Environmentalists shouting "Shame on Bush" heckled US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell while he spoke at the Earth Summit today.
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Mr Colin Powell faced protests during his address at the Earth Summit
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"Betrayed by governments," read a banner held up by the protesters, some of whom were rapidly hustled out by security guards as they whistled and booed and shouted slogans critical of US President George W. Bush.
"Thank you, I have now heard you. I ask that you hear me," Mr Powell replied, breaking off from his prepared speech to the gathering.
He was later booed by dozens of other people in the audience when he said Washington was taking action to address climate change. Mr Bush, an ally of the oil, coal and logging industries, has been widely criticised by many poor countries for not attending the gathering.
Green groups view his absence as evidence that Washington puts profits before the environment.
The United States denies the charge and has unveiled a large number of voluntary projects involving private businesses that aim to clean up the planet.
"We have plans to end the despair and offer hope. Now is the time to put those plans into action to expand the circle of development to all God's children," Mr Powell said.
Protesters began shouting at Mr Powell when he mentioned the drought in southern Africa and singled out Zimbabwe and its controversial land seizure campaign.
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"In one country in this region, Zimbabwe, the lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law has exacerbated these factors to push millions of people forward towards the brink of starvation."
As police hustled out about seven people, South African Foreign Minister Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma repeatedly banged her gavel in disapproval, saying the outburst was unacceptable. Later, towards the end of Mr Powell's speech, dozens of other protesters walked peacefully out of the meeting hall in protest.
Protesters, many of whom appeared to be members of lobby groups, were stripped of their accreditation badges by security staff.
The summit aims to agree a sweeping UN action plan to fight poverty and preserve the environment, although national leaders will have the final say when the summit meets in plenary session later today.
But green groups say it is too little too late. Ms Lisa Dreier, an American environmental consultant from California, said: "Our government has a shameful record on the environment. They came only with a bunch of platitudes and outright lies on climate and energy issues."
UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan was more upbeat. Commenting on the achievements of the summit so far, Mr Annan told a news conference: "We need to be idealistic but we also need to be practical...I am satisfied with the conference but what matters is what we do when we get back to our communities."