UN climate summit to lay all cards on table

Cheick Sidi Diarra, the UN secretary-general's special advisor on Africa and the high representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OSAA/OHRLLS), said the Sept. 22 summit will provide the political impetus to attempt at a comprehensive climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

    "This is an event which has a very big political impact," he said. "The summit is aimed at mobilizing the political will and getting the attention of decision makers ... to tell them what is at stake, what are the current obstacles and in which ways can they help push forward the process."

    More than 90 heads of state are expected to attend the one-day event, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who told Xinhua on Tuesday that progress in the negotiations had been slow and the summit was his attempt to galvanize world leaders to come to an agreement in December.

    At the summit, only a few heads of state will speak at the opening session, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barak Obama, while the majority of national statements will be delivered via pre-recorded video messages.

    After the opening session, national leaders will engage in four small roundtable sessions in the morning and four in the afternoon. Each participant is allowed to bring one adviser.

    Despite the high number of those attending, the format of the summit has been criticized by the Group of 77 (G-77) for its lack of inclusiveness -- not all members of the UN will be allowed to speak at the opening session and a limited number of representatives of government were invited to a "working lunch" with members from businesses, civil society and high-ranking United Nations officials; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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