The Bangkok Climate Change talks were preceded by the United Nations Climate Change summit in New York 22 September, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at which about 100 heads of state and government clearly called for a comprehensive climate change agreement in Copenhagen.

The gathering in Bangkok, from 28 September to 9 October, is being attended by m ore than 4,000 participants, including government delegates from 177 countries, representatives from business and industry, environmental organisations and rese arch institutions, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said in a statement.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who opened the two-week meeting, said «the summit was able to renew our collective engagement on the issue of climate ch ange at the very highest levels. So I hope that the political will and vision express ed by all leaders in New York will now guide you, as negotiators and concerned national officials, on the road to Copenhagen».

«There is no plan B»

«There is no plan B» he said.«If we do not realize plan A, we go straigh t to plan F, which stands for failure».

Leaders at the New York Summit called for a climate change deal in December that ensures enhanced action to assist the most vulnerable and the poorest to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

They also stressed that ambitious emission reduction targets were required for industrialised countries, as well as the need for nationally-appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries with the necessary support.

Furthermore, they reiterated that significantly scaled-up financial and technolo gical resources and an equitable governance structure were required.

Identifying new greenhouse gases

While negotiations in Bangkok are expected to focus on the five elements world leaders subscribed to in New York, areas in which some progress had been made at previous UNFCCC negotiating sessions and in which progress can be extended in clude: adaptation action, REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries), technology, capacity building, and institutional arrangements for finance.

UNFCCC said a key focus would be on obtaining clarity on further emission reduct ion commitments for industrialised countries.

Important technical work under the Kyoto Protocol will also be taken forward on issues such as Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, identifying new greenhouse gases to be included in the Copenhagen agreed outcome and defining base years for emission cuts.

The Bangkok meeting will be followed by a final five days of pre-Copenhagen negotiations in Barcelona, Spain, in November.