World leaders are racing against the clock in an attempt to forge a deal on climate change in Copenhagen that hinges on the resolving sharp differences between rich and poorer nations over emissions cuts and their monitoring.
All eyes at the UN summit are on China and the US, the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the two countries which will do most to decide whether a new global framework can be agreed. Barack Obama, the US president, and Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, are due to join the talks this morning to try to hammer out an agreement.
Such a deal would, most likely, be converted into a treaty next year and be the first to bind all countries to take action on climate change.