Greenland is considering allowing the G-77 countries rather than Denmark to represent it at the UN Copenhagen Climate Summit in December unless it receives a status as a developing country with reduced requirements on CO2 emissions, according to a report in Berlingske Tidende.

“Greenland reserves the right to stay outside an agreement if the conditions of the agreement result in economic sanctions on developing countries such as Greenland who are trying to develop their peoples and societies,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Kupik Kleist tells Berlingske Tidende.

He adds, however, that he hopes that Denmark and Greenland can reach a mutually acceptable agreement before the summit. Greenland is not an internationally accepted sovereign country and as such is represented by Denmark in international negotiations.

Under an agreement with Denmark in 2001 Greenland must reduce its CO2 emissions by eight percent from 2008-2012 relative to a base year of 1990. But in order to develop the territory, Greenland, which is as large as all of Europe put together and with a population of only 50,000, wants to emit more CO2.

Denmark, however, is currently unwilling to allow Greenland to emit more CO2 unless its industries compensate in the form of expensive CO2 quotas.

According to the report, Greenland’s CO2 emissions per capita are almost the same as Denmark’s, although there are said to be fears that when raw material extraction in Greenland takes off, emissions per capita will increase dramatically. Plans, for example, for an aluminium smelter are said to be likely to increase CO2 emissions by 75 percent.

Greenland, much of which is covered by perma-frost, is frequently used by the Danish government as an example of the effects of global warming on arctic regions.

Despite the threats, however, Denmark’s Conservative Party Energy and Greenland Spokesman Per Ørum Jørgensen says it is ‘hypothetical’ that Greenland and Denmark will fail to reach agreement before the Climate Summit.

“We will find a solution,” the junior governing coalition partner spokesman tells Berlingske Tidende.