Copenhagen, Denmark — Negotiations stalled at the beginning of the second week of the U.N. climate change conference over developing nations' concerns of the fate of the Kyoto Protocol. 

African nations led the suspension of the talks over fears that developed countries were trying to shelve the Kyoto treaty beyond 2012, when it is originally set to expire. The treaty is a legally binding agreement that forces developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions without making demands on their developing counterparts.

African nations were also disappointed in the amount of money being offered by developed nations to help poorer countries adapt to climate change. 

Negotiations resumed a few hours later, but news report suggest deep distrust lingers among developing countries about the amount of emissions industrialized nations would commit to reduce. 

The temporary suspension added to the drama that's been building since the conference opened Dec. 7. It kicked off with Rajenda Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, defending the integrity of climate science following the incident dubbed Climategate, when emails from U.K. climate researchers were hacked and posted online, the content of which skeptics have seized as evidence of a climate change science cover-up.

Another leaked document -- the so-called Danish text -- also sparked controversy last week and helped set the stage for Monday's walkout of African nations. The document stirred fears of developing countries because of the perception that the document -- drawn behind closed doors -- was a prelude to kill the Kyoto Protocol.