The leaked Danish draft with its sweeping set of tough conditions for countries like India underlined the gulf that needs to be traversed here before an agreement can be reached.

That gulf was set to grow after the US today suggested that major developing countries like India and China would have to put their domestic, voluntary action under some sort of international scrutiny.

India has repeatedly rejected this.

Todd Stern, the US Special Envoy on climate change, said that the actions been announced by India and China “would have to be put in an international agreement” to ensure that there was transparency in their efforts.

“All domestic efforts have to be part of an international agreement. International treaties cannot be built merely on the basis of trust. You can’t say ‘Look, trust us. We are doing our bit and we will tell you about it’. This is important for ensuring transparency. Besides, the whole world needs to have a sense of where it’s going on emissions reductions,” Stern told reporters here today.

Stern did not specifically say that the US wanted these actions subject to international monitoring and review.

Still, this is likely to become a major contentious issue with countries like India which has resisted any attempt to open its domestic actions — those that are not supported by finance and technology from the developed countries — to international scrutiny.

Pointing out that currently almost the entire growth in emissions was happening in developing countries, Stern stressed that these countries would have to take significant actions to supplement efforts of the rich countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“If you look at it, they have been doing quite a lot. China, India, Brazil all have announced their decisions to take urgent measures. The United States appreciates that,” he said.

But he made it clear that these countries should not expect any money from the governments of the rich countries to support their mitigation and adaptation efforts.

“I don’t envision public funds, certainly not from the US, going to a country like China. We intend to direct the public funds to countries which are the most vulnerable to climate change and the most in need for resources. I don’t think a country like China would be the first candidate for that,” he said.

Though he emphasized that the United States would continue to push for a legally binding agreement to come out of Copenhagen, Stern ruled out his country becoming a part of Kyoto Protocol or “Kyoto Protocol by any other name.”