In the most heated protest of these early days at COP15 in Copenhagen, African representatives accused the political leaders of the developed world of hijacking the conference to the detriment of developing nations.

The marchers said the process of the talks had been manipulated by the developed world’s political leaders to impose on Africans a deal that won’t benefit them.

Augustine Njmanshi, of Christian Aid, said Africans were suffering and would “not die in silence.”

He added: “$10 billion is not enough to buy the coffins to bury us with.”