More than 60 leaders to attend Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- More than 60 heads of state and government will attend the crucial climate-change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Leaders attending include French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva. Usually, only environment ministers attend the climate meetings, so expectations for the Dec. 8-17 conference have been boosted by this announcement made by the Danish government.

Delegations from some 190 countries are expected to flock to Copenhagen next month to hammer out a global climate-protection agreement.

Climate activists hope that the accord to be born at Copenhagen features binding emissions-reductions targets, adaptation measures and their funding. The treaty is aimed at replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012. Key to the new accord would be ambitious commitments from the United States and leading developing countries India and China.

But such are currently in jeopardy: For the past weeks, observers had lowered hopes that a binding agreement can be reached at Copenhagen. Leaders of India and China have also not yet confirmed their presence. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he might come.

Yet with so many leaders traveling to Copenhagen, pressure is due to rise on those still debating whether to attend.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is optimistic that the summit can be a success.

"I believe there is a strong and high degree of political resolve from many of the leaders around the world to land a Copenhagen agreement," he told the BBC.

Developing countries have said they would only commit to binding greenhouse gas emissions reductions if rich nations reduce their emissions by at least 40 percent until 2020 from 1990 levels. They have also asked for billions of dollars from developed nations for climate-change adaptation and mitigation purposes.

India and China have vowed not to move on the issue until the United States commits to ambitious climate-protection targets.

However, U.S. progress is delayed in the Senate. Republican senators have delayed the bill, which won't be passed before the Copenhagen meeting. Democrats hope that it will be passed in early 2010.