In the spotlight: The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań

They have come to Poland to participate in the UN's 14th conference on the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 4th session of Kyoto Protocol nations being held from December 1-12.

Organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the conference is regarded as the world's most important forum for political discussion on climate protection. It features plenary sessions and working groups as well as numerous side events such as presentations, seminars, Q&A sessions and exhibitions.

The conference will focus on all kinds of problems related to the issue of global climate change and particular attention will be paid to examples of successful technology transfer and actions on adapting to climate change this year. One of the main goals of the conference is to prepare a framework for the next conference, at which an agreement on Kyoto Protocol commitments beyond 2012 needs to be reached.

The conference also precipitated a number of initiatives on the part of the city of Poznań, which wants to present its green credentials to the world. The city has taken a number of steps to this end, such as distributing energy-efficient light bulbs among 100,000 school students and teachers, and purchasing a hybrid bus, the first of its kind in Poland, which will be used by conference participants. The Polish Ministry of the Environment, for its part, has launched an extensive promotional campaign in the media that discusses the conference and informs citizens how to prevent climate change.

The first UN climate change conference took place in 1995 inBerlin. Last year's edition of the conference was held on the Indonesian island of Bali.