We are running out of time to get a deal up that tackles global warming.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says we only have 10 days left to get a deal up before the critical Copenhagen summit in December. He says much of it depends on the United States.

But the prospects of getting some sort of agreement on climate change in the lead up to Copenhagen are looking slimmer by the day with the Financial Times reporting that talks are deadlocked.

The FT reports: "The developing world wants the developed world to give commitments to more than 20 per cent cuts in emissions and on financing for strategies that would mitigate the inevitable damage involved in adapting to the new realities of a warmer world. The developed world wants the big emerging economies to give firm undertakings on cutting the growth of their emissions. However, whilst some progress has been made on smaller problems, such as technology transfer, the big questions are not even being addressed, delegates say. 'We see too little discussion on substantial key political issues, and that is the problem we are facing. We are not tackling the big and difficult issues,' Anders Turesson, the chief negotiator for Sweden, which, at present, holds the rotating European Union presidency, said. When asked if the opposing blocks were ready to compromise, Mr Turesson was downbeat. 'I would say there is no substantial change, and that is partly because we haven't discussed the critical issues to any large extent.'