It’s here! The 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) and the last chance we have to take action against “the greatest threat the world has ever faced”. The climate conference is taking place at Bella Center in Copenhagen from the 7th to the 18th of December. Around 15000 participants from 192 countries representing governments, the business community, and civil society is expected to attend. About 110 world leaders will come to Copenhagen, and last week Barack Obama promised to come to the last days of the climate conference.

COP 15 President Connie Hedegaard and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer have, after the first day of the conference, said that there is “an unprecedented political will to reach an agreement”. Hedegaard continued by saying that “there is a huge pressure on everyone to deliver not just a deal, but an ambitious deal in Copenhagen”:

“Don’t believe that anything gets easier if we postpone things now. This is the time. This is now we have the possibility.

We must deliver. Not a deal, but an ambitious deal in Copenhagen. That’s why we are busy, very busy for the next few weeks.”

Yvo de Boer stated that he “believe the conference will write history, but we must make sure it writes the right history”.

“Time is up. People are speaking out. We’ve spent two years negotiating and now this process must deliver, he said.”

Also watch the four-minute long COP15 opening film which was shown to thousands of delegates in Copenhagen today. “We have made a film which speaks to the heart rather than to the brain,” said the Danish director of the film Mikkel Blaabjerg Poulsen.

“U.S. President Barack Obama will go to Copenhagen for a U.N. climate change meeting on December 9, hoping to add momentum to an international process despite slow progress on a domestic bill to cut carbon emissions”, Reuters reports.

“Obama planned to make a visit at the beginning of the climate negotiations in Denmark, an administration official told Reuters on Wednesday, before picking up the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in neighboring Oslo.”

With him to the climate summit Obama has a pledge to cut emissions in the USA with 17% from 2005 levels by 2020, 30% by 2025, 42% by 2030 and 83% by 2050. But these numbers are much lower than those proposed by the EU and other industrialised countries such as Norway.

The numbers are also much lower than what the science says is needed to avert catastrophic man-made climate change. According to the IPCC report in 2007 industrialised countries such as the USA needs to cut their emissions by 25-40% by 2020. The global environmental alliance TckTckTck calls for developed countries to cut emissions with 40% by 2020. And according to paleoclimate scientist Dr Andrew Glikson we need to cut carbon emissions with up to 80% by 2020 to avoid catastrophe.

In response to Obama’s announcement the UN climate chief, Yvo de Boer, said that “the world is very much looking to the United States to come forward with an emission reduction target and contribute to financial support to help developing countries.”

But Obama does not plan to join around 65 other world leaders during the final days of the UN climate meeting. Despite this the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen praised Obama’s decision and said that “the visit underlines the president’s desire to contribute to an ambitious, global agreement in Copenhagen”.

World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Program Director, Keya Chatterjee, said that the environmental organization is “pleased” that President Obama will attend the climate summit. But also noted that:

“If his presence during the latter days of the COP becomes necessary to secure the right commitments, we hope the President will be willing to return to Copenhagen with the rest of the world’s leaders during the final stages of the negotiations.”

Greenpeace USA Global Warming Campaign Director, Damon Moglen, response was a bit harsher. In a statement Moglen said Obama’s short visit “amounts to nothing more than President Obama taking a photo opportunity on his way to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize.” Moglen also said that the international community cannot take Obama’s emission pledge seriously:

“The proposed emissions reductions target – 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 – is less than one seventh of what the European Union leaders have said they are prepared to commit. The proposed reduction refers to 2005 emissions and not the standard 1990 baseline used by scientists and policymakers around the world. Arranging the numbers this way may be more politically palatable, but it misleads the public on information key to its welfare.

Science calls for the United States and the developed world to cut pollution by at least 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 to 95 percent by 2050. Using this accepted standard, the announced target that the U.S. plans to bring to the table shoots for only a 4 percent cut in pollution.”

You can learn more about the Copenhagen meeting here.

In the first of a remarkable series of video interviews, Britain’s leading green commentator, George Monbiot, charges the UN’s leading climate change official with lacking ambition for a global emissions deal, and takes him to task over expensive carbon offset schemes and his support for the US president, George Bush. In the coming weeks, Monbiot takes on the bosses of Shell and the International Energy Agency and more.

Watch George Monbiot meets Yvo de Boer on the Guardian.

Below you can find videos from the press briefings for the first week:

Poznan opening press briefing

Briefing the media on the opening day of the Conference, Yvo de Boer emphasized the crucial role of finance in reaching a long-term solution to climate change. Advancing the commitment of industrialized countries is intimately linked to enhancing the engagement of developing countries, he said. Poznań would show progress on ongoing work under the Convention and allow Ministers to present their vision of long-term cooperative action, he explained. His expectations for the conference – being attended by almost 11.000 participants included the launch of the Adaptation Fund, as well as significant advances on technology transfer, the CDM and the issue of deforestation.

Mr. de Boer highlighted two important signals received in 2007: The IPCC report, confirming the reality and impacts of climate change; and the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, which said failure to act would equal economic failure on the scale of two World Wars and the Great Depression combined.

Poznan press briefing on the second day

At a press briefing on the second day of the Conference, Yvo de Boer expressed satisfaction with the results of the opening day, with all major groups having launched their work and the formation of contact groups now underway.

The group on long -term cooperative action got off to a positive start, he said, although there was a sense that Governments must speed up work, also on the issue of a shared vision for long-term cooperative action. He added that Governments were keen to move forward.

The working group under the Kyoto Protocol also got off to a good start. Many countries have emphasized that the focus of this groups work at Poznań should be on the commitments of industrialized countries.

The large assembly document of proposals made by Parties was welcomed by many countries, Mr. de Boer said. Different chapters of this document will be discussed in various contact groups. He pointed out that during discussions on the first day, many Parties expressed the need to boost technology transfer and to focus on removing the obstacles to technology transfer.

Poznan press briefing on the third day

The market-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol were highlighted by Yvo de Boer at todays press briefing; Parties in Poznań are considering ways to enhance the existing mechanisms and looking at the role mechanisms will play in the future.

Discussions continued yesterday on a shared vision on long-term cooperative action. Mr. de Boer said that during the discussions, developing countries gave a strong call for industrialized countries to show leadership and ambition in emission reductions.

On the issue of technology, he pointed to the strategic programme of the Global Environment Facility to scale up technology transfer, with many countries calling for its quick implementation. Underling the importance of both financial and technical support for all developing countries, Mr. de Boer said delegates in Poznań were also assessing how to scale up financing, including the role of both public and private financing.

The reporting of climate change actions by developing countries was also taken up at todays briefing. On this important issue, Mr. de Boer said that delegates were discussing ways to support the preparation of these reports.

Poznan press briefing on the fourth day

At todays press briefing in Poznań , Yvo de Boer gave an update on a number of areas under discussion, including Adaptation. An important issue was how to increase funding for Adaptation, particularly for Least Developed Countries, he said, adding that many countries had expressed their frustration over difficulties in accessing funding from the Least Developed Countries Fund.

During negotiations on mitigation potentials, Mr. de Boer said the need for developed countries to show leadership on reducing emissions was voiced strongly, amid criticism of the low level of ambition being shown by these countries.

With regard to a shared vision on long-term cooperation, he spoke of emerging convergence in a number of areas. There was agreement, for example, that it should be based on scientific findings; that it should involve specific targets for industrialized countries; and that the main building blocks should be mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology.

Delegates were also moving forward on the issue of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD); an important element of a strengthened climate change agreement.

Poznan press briefing on the fifth day

Briefing the media on day five of the Conference, Yvo de Boer said that serious discussions were emerging to launch the intensified negotiations needed to reach the 2009 deadline in Copenhagen.

Many delegates were highlighting the need to move to a low-carbon society, citing the emission reduction range of -25 to -40 by 2020 over 1990 levels for industrialized countries, and asking these countries to show ambition and leadership with regard to these targets.

There was agreement that financial mechanisms, including insurance, can play an important role within a strengthened response to climate change, and that financial mechanisms for risk management in developing countries needed to be scaled up.

Parties were also considering how to increase funds for adaptation through the carbon market, with discussions focusing on extending the current 2% levy on mitigation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to the other Kyoto mechanisms, Joint Implementation and Emissions Trading, Mr. de Boer said. He added that the inclusion of a limited number of Carbon Capture and Storage pilot projects under the CDM was also under discussion.

“The credit crisis can be used to make progress in a new direction, an opportunity for global green economic growth,” Yvo de Boer told a news conference.

“The credit crunch I believe is an opportunity to rebuild the financial system that would underpin sustainable growth,” and that “governments now have an opportunity to create and enforce policy which stimulates private competition to fund clean industry”, Yvo de Boer said.

Yvo de Boer said that to be able to “create new markets, investment opportunities and job creation” the climate meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009 must be successful.

Read the whole interview over at wbcsd.org