Key Players
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established by the UN in 1988 to provide authoritative assessments of the latest climate change science. Its reports, which are compiled and reviewed by thousands of leading scientists, have provided the basis for international efforts to combat global warming by reducing carbon emissions. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, but critics claim that the panel's structure and origins predispose it to blame global warming on man's actions.
UNFCCC
More than 190 counties have now signed up to the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty drawn up at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The agreement, which laid the ground for legally-binding targets adopted in Kyoto five years later, has also given rise to a permanent UN body of the same name, which coordinates countries' efforts to reduce emissions.
G77
An alliance of 130 developing nations including China and India. The G77 lobbies for the developed world to accept a greater share of the burden for fighting climate change, arguing that strict emission restrictions will hamper the economic growth of poorer nations. It has threatened to scupper any deal at Copenhagen unless the US agrees to meet tough CO2 targets.
LDCF
The Least Developed Countries Fund provides financial support for countries – mainly in Africa – that are deemed most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. It funds projects to help communities to adapt to threats such as flooding
MEF
Britain is one of 17 members of the Major Economies Forum, a group of the world's largest polluters established by President Barack Obama earlier this year. Intended to foster discussions rather than produce firm agreements, its first communiqué in July offered little policy detail.
