Conference of the Parties (COP) 15

Home to IIED's climate change negotiations work in the run up United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen (COP15).

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are the poorest countries in the world. A number of criteria determine this status. As of May 2009, LDCs number 50. Roughly 65 per cent are in Africa; a number of others are known as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Many SIDS are low-lying and located in parts of the world already prone to extreme weather events, factors that make them highly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as sea level rise and fiercer and more frequent tropical storms.

Interview with IIED's Dr Saleemul Huq on what the upcoming negotiations mean for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), what funding options for adaptation will look like with the advent of the global economic recession, why media coverage from a LDC perspective is so crucial and what we can expect to see from the big hitters at the climate conference in Copenhagen.