The 15th UN climate change conference, a result of two-year international talks on a binding treaty to cut the global emission of greenhouse gases, opened on Monday in Copenhagen.
Nearly 100 leaders are to attend the event in the Danish capital, including U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The controversial leaders of Sudan, Zimbabwe and Burma will also attend, despite the fact that they are prohibited by European Union law from entering its territory.
Such meetings traditionally attract a large number of participants. This year, organizers had to introduce quotas for nongovernmental organizations and media as more than 34,000 people wanted to attend, twice more than the maximum capacity of the venue, wanted to attend.
A conference in Bali gathered 11,000 participants last year, while the last year's conference in Poznan was attended by 9,000 people.
"Never in the 17 years of climate negotiations have so many different nations made so many firm pledges together," UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told journalists on Sunday. "It's simply unprecedented."
The top UN climate change official said the meeting in Copenhagen would be a "turning point" in global efforts to combat climate change.
During the two weeks of talks the governments have to agree on three main climate change points, including urgent measures to tackle the climate change, obligations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and the general view on cutting the harmful emissions.
The conference is expected to agree a new international document to replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, some elements of which expire in 2012.
The document, if signed, will see Russian natural gas exports drop by 180 billion cubic meters by 2020, said Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency. If the document is not signed, Russia is expected to export up to 240 billion cubic meters of gas in the reported period.
Global gas consumption is forecast to grow 37% by 2020 if the new treaty is signed, and by 65% if it fails.
Some experts believe, though, that the summit, which puts together about 15,000 participants from 192 countries, is more likely to just outline principles and directions for a post-Kyoto framework.
Many world leaders have pledged on the eve of the summit to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help keeping global warming under control.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would target a 25% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 instead of 15% cuts projected earlier.
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce a 17% emissions cut at the climate summit.
South Africa announced on Sunday it would reduce emissions by 34% over the next 10 years, while India earlier offered to cut emissions by up to 25% during the same period.
STOCKHOLM, December 7 (RIA Novosti)
