Where countries stand on Copenhagen

The Copenhagen conference intended to agree a new international framework for controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has begun. The final round of preparatory talks in Barcelona revealed deep divisions between some of the key participants. Use this table to study their positions.

Country	What's on the table	Climate facts (2007)	Public opinion
China "Developed countries should support developing countries in tackling climate change." President Hu Jintao, 22/9/09	Set a "binding goal" to cut CO2 per unit of GDP by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020 Wants rich countries to reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 level by 2020 Says they should pay 1% of their GDP per year to help other countries adapt Wants West to provide low-carbon technology	The world's biggest GHG producer (20.7% of global emissions, 8,106mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 30th in the world (6t of CO2 equivalent) GDP (2008): $4.3tn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 1,152t Kyoto: Signed as a developing country so not obliged to cut emissions	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
United States "This is not fiction, this is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet." Barack Obama, US president, 18/12/09	Prepared to work "with other countries" to raise $100bn a year by 2020 Will cut emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 pending congressional approval - this is close to 4% below 1990 levels Against Kyoto-style treaty imposing international legal obligations Insists China, India, South Africa and Brazil must commit to slow growth of emissions Climate bill is currently bogged down in Senate	The world's second-biggest GHG producer (15.5% of global emissions, 6,087mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: Fifth in the world (20t of CO2 equivalent) GDP (2008): $14.2tn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 441t Kyoto: Signed, but never ratified	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
EU "Things are fragile but I believe that common sense will prevail. We have to focus on the substance and we have to take political decisions." Stavros Dimas, EU environment commissioner, 18/12/09 The EU is a grouping of 27 European states	Will cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020, or 30% if other big emitters take tough action Wants rich nations to make 80-95% cut by 2050 Wants poorer nations to slow emissions growth Says they face costs of $150bn per year by 2020, of which EU will pay $7bn-22bn from public finances	The world's third-biggest GHG producer (11.8% of global emissions, 4,641mt CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 17th in the world (9t of CO2 equivalent) GDP (2008): $18.3tn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 315t Kyoto: Signed - has to get average emissions for 2008-2012 8% below 1990 level	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious (Results represent the median of 23 out of the 27 EU states polled by Gallup)
Japan "Japan will, with this assistance, support a broad range of developing countries which are taking measures of mitigation, as well as those which are vulnerable." Japan delegation, 16/12/09	Will cut emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, if other countries show similar ambition This amounts to a cut of 30% in 10 years, and is opposed by industry "Hatoyama initiative" will increase financial and technical assistance to developing countries Backs proposals in which each country would set its own commitments	The world's seventh-biggest GHG producer (3.3% of global emissions, 1,293mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 15th in the world (10t of CO2 equivalent) GDP (2008): $4.9tn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 301t Kyoto: Signed - has to get average emissions for 2008-2012 6% below 1990 level	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
The nations and organisations below are also part of the G77 group of developing nations
India "The most vulnerable country in the world to climate change is India." Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister, 3/12/09	Will cut CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020 Rejects legally binding target, but wants rich countries legally bound Says rich countries are to blame for climate change and points to big gap in per capita emissions Wants 40% cut in rich country emissions by 2020 Opposes goal of halving world emissions by 2050	The world's sixth-biggest GHG producer (5% of global emissions, 1,963mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 66th in the world (2t of CO2 equivalent) GDP (2008): $1.2tn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 655t Kyoto: Signed as a developing country, so not obliged to cut emissions	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
African union "My proposal scales back our expectation with respect to the level of funding in return for more reliable funding." Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, 16/12/09 The African Union is a grouping of 52 African states	Wants climate funds to reach $100bn a year by 2020 for rich countries to help poorer nations Wants at least 50% for vulnerable and poor regions such as African and small island states Like China, wants rich countries legally bound to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 level by 2020 Describes 20 to 30% cuts as "unacceptable"	The AU accounts for 8.1% of global emissions (3,164mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 4t of CO2 equivalent GDP (2008): $34bn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 1,361t Kyoto: African nations signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Sample state, Kenya: Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
Gulf states "We are among the most economically vulnerable countries." Mohammad S. Al Sabban, Saudi Arabia's lead negotiator 8/10/09 Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE	Opec and Saudi Arabia seeking financial aid for oil-producers if new agreement requires cuts of fossil fuels Keen on a deal that would advance use of carbon capture and storage In 2007 Opec members pledged $750m to fund climate change research Qatar and Abu Dhabi investing heavily in clean energy technology	Gulf states account for 2.3% of global emissions (894mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 25t of CO2 equivalent GDP (2008): $468bn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 875t Kyoto: Gulf States signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Sample state, Saudi Arabia: Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious
Small islands "The days of little money in the face of big problems are over." Dessima Williams, head of the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), 9/10/09 Aosis is a bloc of 42 island and coastal states mostly in the Pacific and Caribbean	Regard rising sea level as threat to their existence Seek to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels Want concentration of CO2 in atmosphere lowered from 380 to 350 parts per million Want global emissions to peak by 2015 and fall 85% below 1990 level by 2050 Want at least 1% of rich country GDP spent on "climate-inflicted damage"	The small island states account for 0.6% of global GHG emissions (246mt of CO2 equivalent) Emissions per head: 4t of CO2 equivalent GDP (2008): $46bn Amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP: 551t Kyoto: Aosis members signed as developing countries so are not obliged to cut emissions	How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family? Sample state, Dominican Republic: Very/Somewhat serious Not very/Not at all serious

SOURCES: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the World Bank. Gallup poll data taken in 2008. Between 528 and 2,493 people interviewed in each country, either by phone or face-to-face (the question was put to people who said they knew something about climate change). The margin of error ranges from +/-3.5 to +/-5.3%.