--- title: The Climate Contest description: Inside the confusing alliances and battle lines at the major U.N. climate summit in Paris canonical: https://time.com/4134374/the-climate-contest/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-03T12:02:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:04:29.907Z article:section: Science og:title: The Climate Contest og:description: Inside the confusing alliances and battle lines at the major U.N. climate summit in Paris og:url: https://time.com/4134374/the-climate-contest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Climate Contest twitter:description: Inside the confusing alliances and battle lines at the major U.N. climate summit in Paris twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Climate Contest > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 3, 2015 12:02 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 3, 2015 12:02 PM UTC More than 100 heads of government and 40,000 other attendees are gathered in Paris to craft a global climate deal. It’s challenging work, made more complicated by the slew of alliances among countries–especially since nations can belong to multiple groups. The likely outcome is a pact that will formalize the carbon cuts that countries have promised to make, with room for debate. But as President Obama said at the summit’s start, “no nation–large or small, wealthy or poor–is immune” to the effects of climate change. Here’s a breakdown of the players at Paris: KEY \[The following text appears within a diagram. Please see your hard copy for actual diagram.\] Major alliances Top 50 countries sized by their carbon footprint in 2011 MAJOR NEGOTIATING GROUPS: \[The following text appears within 6 diagrams. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual diagrams.\] OPEC Nations Oil exporters that have a history of blocking meaningful climate action QATAR IRAN INDONESIA UAE NIGERIA VENEZUELA KUWAIT IRAQ SAUDI ARABIA ALGERIA Saudi Arabia has asked for compensation for any lost oil revenue due to a climate deal European Union The E.U.’s 28 nations negotiate in a bloc and push for tougher climate action SPAIN GREECE ROMANIA CZECH REPUBLIC GERMANY NETHERLANDS POLAND AUSTRIA FRANCE U.K. ITALY BELGIUM The U.K. has proposed eliminating all of its remaining coal power plants by 2025 Umbrella Group A coalition of non-E.U. developed countries that have been foot draggers on climate change in past summits NORWAY RUSSIA NEW ZEALAND JAPAN AUSTRALIA U.S. UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN CANADA The U.S. aims to cut carbon emissions by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030 New Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has promised a greener government Group of 77 and China This influential group of developing nations now includes 134 countries CHINA BRAZIL EGYPT SAUDI ARABIA INDONESIA ALGERIA IRAN PAKISTAN COLOMBIA PHILIPPINES VIETNAM QATAR OMAN CHILE NORTH KOREA KUWAIT THAILAND MALAYSIA NIGERIA SOUTH AFRICA ARGENTINA UAE VENEZUELA IRAQ INDIA China announced plans to develop a national carbon cap-and-trade program India’s plan to cut emissions has been criticized as too vague Environmental Integrity Group This mix of developed and developing countries tries to find common ground on climate change LIECHTENSTEIN SOUTH KOREA MONACO SWITZERLAND MEXICO Mexico’s stock exchange launched a program to allow polluters to trade carbon credits Alliance of Small Island States A coalition of 44 low-lying and small island countries that pushes for ambitious carbon cuts CUBA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO JAMAICA SINGAPORE Small island nations emit a relatively small amount of carbon, but they have a lot to lose from rising sea levels COMMON PRIORITIES OF THE ABOVE GROUPS: Transparency Developed countries want strong measures to ensure that developing countries follow through with their commitments Ambition These nations are pushing for a more aggressive carbon-cut target … Differentiation … as well as an agreement that differentiates between the responsibilities of developed and developing countries Adaptation Many of the most vulnerable want the agreement to focus on methods to adapt to warming, not just slow it down Loss and damage These groups want clear terms outlining how to handle loss and damage related to climate events in the most vulnerable places Finance These groups say that adequately addressing climate change in the developing world will hinge on financial commitments to the tune of $100 billion a year flowing from rich nations to poor ones OTHER GROUPS IN THE CLIMATE NEGOTIATION PROCESS: 54 Number of countries in each group African Nations The group aims to raise the influence of Africa, which is very vulnerable to climate change 22 League of Arab States These nations could face terrible heat–but depend on oil revenue 16 Coalition for Rainforest Nations This group advocates reforestation to mitigate climate change 48 Least-Developed Countries All are very poor and need help adapting to climate change 18 Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries They represent more than 50% of the world’s population 7 Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean This group pushes for adaptation funding 54 Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie This alliance is composed of French-speaking nations 4 BASIC Countries The major developing nations: Brazil, South Africa, India and China NOTE: NOT ALL COUNTRIES UNDER TOP 50 CARBON PRODUCERS ARE LISTED FOR SPACE. SOURCES: JENNIFER MORGAN, WRI; CDIAC; U.N.; THEROADTHROUGHPARIS.ORG; U.N. FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE; U.N. 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