The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place in Copenhagen from December 7th to 18th. This conference has attracted attention worldwide as climate change is a hot topic and because this conference will discuss the possibility of having a binding global climate agreement that will apply for the period after 2012.

Climate change is a crucial topic for dryland areas in terms of agriculture, water availability, pastoral lifestyles, etc. An important topic for drylands and for the UNCCD is also whether agriculture - or more specifically soil carbon sequestration - will be eligible for carbon trading under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) funding scheme. Despite the potential important role agriculture could play in mitigation climate change, it has so far not been an important topic in the UNFCCC discussions. This is in part due to controversial science.

For more information on COP15, please refer to the official UNFCCC website: unfccc.int

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