UN climate summit's Qatari hosts under fire as talks drag on Delegates at the UN climate talks in Doha. Photograph: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images The Qatari hosts of the UN climate talks were being widely blamed on Friday night for scenes of frustration and confusion as the negotiations dragged on long through the evening without outcome. The Kyoto protocol, still the only international treaty stipulating cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, and a touchstone for many environmentalists, had looked on the verge of being rescued by a coalition of rich and poor nations painstakingly assembled over two years. But the prize was thrown into doubt in large part, delegates said, because of mismanagement by the hosts. The talks had to be adjourned for several hours because delegates were unable to agree on poorly worded texts. The delay raised the possibility of a breakdown in the talks, and does little to increase faith in the UN climate process. Negotiators from rich and poor countries alike were furious at the hosts and there were barely veiled insults even in the open conference sessions. Referring to the latest version of the negotiating text, the Chinese delegate told the hosts: "This meal prepared by you, just like that in the QNCC [conference centre], is not that delicious, but at least it offers us something to eat." One participant told the Guardian: "It's like the Qataris think it's a World Cup, but this is not a game of football - these are serious negotiations about the future of the planet. They have not taken this seriously, they have not got a grip. Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director at the green campaigning group Natural Resources Defence Capital, said: "There's a cultural mismatch between the Qatari team and this process. They think deal-making is beneath them. They are not managing very well. One delegate accused the Qataris of going home early on Thursday instead of working through the night on the draft texts, which hosts are expected to do. At stake is the future of the Kyoto protocol, the main targets of which expire this year. More importantly, this conference was meant to clear the way for a new climate agreement that for the first time would bind both developed and developing countries to carbon cuts. If these talks break down, work on that crucial treaty will be disrupted, which could spell serious trouble as the deadline for negotiations is already tight. Countries must sign an agreement in 2015 for it to come into force in 2020. This was supposed to be a straightforward meeting, because there is wide agreement on the principle of continuing the Kyoto protocol, albeit with only a few developed countries - EU members, Australia, Norway and a handful of others - agreeing to make emissions cuts. Japan and Canada abandoned the treaty, which they previously strongly supported, last year and the US has never ratified it. The only other business for the conference was to gain an agreement on developed countries providing financing for poor nations, to help them combat climate change; to adopt a work programme for negotiating the new treaty by 2015; and to sort out some technical issues left over from previous meetings, in order to clear the way for new negotiations to begin. All these looked likely to be achieved in the final days of the talks, and still may be - if the hosts can pull the talks out of the quagmire on Saturday. One of the problems is that, as the UK's negotiator put it, "nothing is agreed till everything is agreed." That means that the conference is unlikely to be able to rescue the Kyoto protocol unless the other items of business are also resolved. The Qataris also came under fire for not putting forward their own plans for cutting emissions and providing money for poor countries. It had been hoped that as hosts they might galvanise the region, including Saudi Arabia, into doing more on climate change and using a small slice of their oil wealth to satisfy developing country demands for funds. Qatar, the world's third biggest exporter of natural gas, is also the world's biggest per capita emitter of carbon - 50 tonnes a year, compared to 17 for the US and 1.4 for India. The country makes the majority of its $170bn annual income from oil and gas. Nick Mabey, chief executive of the green thinktank E3G, echoed the views of many when he said: "We think the level of wealth of Qatar and their responsibility for emissions means that they should be contributing. It would add a lot of momentum to the talks if they made a financial pledge, and would encourage other countries in the region to show solidarity and help countries that are afflicted by the burning of fossil fuels.