COP18 presents golden opportunity for progress

The latest round of UN climate talks have opened in Doha and more than 17,000 participants from around the world are meeting in the Qatari capital.

There is a concern among many delegates that divisions between developing and wealthy nations will hamper progress.

The former Qatari energy minister His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, was elected President of the Conference of the Parties (COP) for its 18th session and he has called for action on the global phenomenon of climate change to be addressed at the critical Doha meeting.

There has been criticism at the decision to hold the meeting in a country with the highest per capita emissions of carbon dioxide on earth and there have been calls for Qatar to take more action to reduce its own carbon footprint.

There are also concerns that the meeting could end in stalemate as common divisions between the rich and poor parties at the Conference resurface.

One of the most crucial ambitions of the meeting will be to negotiate a new commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, the first phase of which runs out at the end of the year. Many poorer nations want the wealthier countries to make substantial cuts in carbon for the next five years.