Two weeks of intense negotiation will begin in Copenhagen on Monday, as governments seek to thrash out the details and come to agreement on an equitable and fair global climate change deal.

South Africa would be represented at the conference by a delegation led by President Jacob Zuma, and including Ministers of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica, International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and senior representatives of the South African government.

The Ministry of Climate and Energy of Denmark has stated that the ambition of the Danish government was that the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen would result in an ambitious global agreement including all the countries of the world.

In Bali in 2007, all parties agreed on the Bali Action Plan, and with that came the working conditions for the negotiations up to COP15 in Copenhagen. 2009 was viewed as “more or less the last chance to achieve an agreement, if this agreement is to be approved and ratified in time for it to come into force after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012”, said the Ministry.

“The UNFCCC’s history shows that countries can quickly move forward together, but also that they risk coming to a standstill because of internal disagreement,” added the Ministry.

Indeed, South African negotiators participating in the process have voiced doubts about whether or not an agreement would be reached in Copenhagen, adding that the parties were just too far apart.

Major disagreements have arisen regarding greenhouse gas emission cuts that developed countries were willing to take, as this could be an expensive endeavour. Emission cuts by emerging economies was also proving a sticking point, as countries like South Africa felt that they should be given a ‘grace period’ to continue increasing emissions while they strive for economic growth.

Much of the actions required under a climate change deal, and subsequent finance packages needed, have been based on the ‘required by science’ reports. However, the climate change scientific community has recently been jarred by what is being called ‘climategate’ – a computer server at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia was hacked and emails from the system disseminated.

Climate change sceptics have stated that the e-mails show collusion by climate scientists to withhold scientific information. Reports have indicated that the emails included: discussions of how to combat the arguments of climate change sceptics, unflattering comments about sceptics, queries from journalists, drafts of scientific papers, keeping scientists who have contrary views out of peer-review literature, and talk of destroying various files in order to prevent data being revealed under the Freedom of Information Act.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on Friday released what it said were the ten elements that needed to be dealt with in the final outcome of the Copenhagen process and that must be covered by a clear decision on the Copenhagen Climate Deal.

First, on the list of ‘must-haves’, was a legally binding outcome building on the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol and their ultimate objective and principles - including all parties to the Convention, and based on a system of five-year commitment periods with emergency review clauses to enable the accommodation of new scientific knowledge. The WWF said that the preferable form of the Copenhagen outcome would be an amended Kyoto Protocol, which is closely linked with a new Copenhagen Protocol.

Secondly, a shared vision to secure the survival of countries, cultures, and ecosystems, to establish low carbon development worldwide and to guarantee equity, was required, said the nongovernmental organisation.

The third requirement was agreed emission reductions targets for developed countries for the 2013 to 2017 commitment period. It stated that developed countries, as a group, should reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2020, and develop zero-carbon action plans as the framework for their emissions reductions pathway towards decarbonisation by 2050.

The WWF said that the fourth ‘must-have’ is a framework for the UNFCCC recognition of developing country actions, unilateral and supported, adding up to an aim by developing countries to reduce emissions by at least 30% compared to business as usual. The framework would recognise nationally appropriate mitigation actions and would provide for these to be included in comprehensive and visionary 2050 low carbon action plans.

The fifth requirement, was a mechanism under the UNFCCC for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (Redd) by at least 75% by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

Sixth, an adaptation action framework that, in particular, seeks to protect the most vulnerable countries and communities as well as ecosystems, that includes the creation of an international insurance mechanism, and that deals with compensation.

Number seven, was a public financing framework for mitigation and adaptation under the UNFCCC that includes guaranteed provision of sufficient, measurable, reportable, verifiable public finance by industrialised countries. This would be used for mitigation action by developing countries to enable a low-carbon development, and for adaptation action by developing countries.

Eighth, was a technology mechanism supporting technology cooperation to secure research, development and dissemination of low-carbon technologies and climate-resilient technologies, including through a technology fund financed by developed countries to secure technology transfer to developing countries.

The ninth aim, was to establish an institutional framework with new and increased capacity under the guidance and authority of the UNFCCC to secure the needed coordination, support and implementation capacity for the mitigation, technology, adaptation and Redd commitments and incentive mechanisms.

Finally, an agreement on standards for a number of foundational areas, including inventories, land use, land-use change and forestry treatment in developed countries, carbon markets, monitoring reporting and verification for both developed and developing countries, and compliance procedures. International shipping and aviation must be part of the overall mitigation effort and policies to reduce emissions should also generate climate finance, concluded the WWF.