The United Nations COP15 conference is held from December 7 to December 18, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. During this conference, Governments, the United Nations and observer organizations aim to make solid agreements on a reduction in man-made greenhouse gases, thereby reducing Global Warming.http://en.cop15.dk

During the United Nations Climate Change Summit on September 22, 2009 in New York, the participating countries of the COP15 held preliminary meetings. China announced a plan to cut carbon emissions by 2020 to lower than the 2005 levels, a major diversion from its past policies. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE58L4WS20090923U.S. President Barack Obama urged other countries to participate, indicating that the "United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history."http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE58L2PR20090922
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his country set a goal to reduce emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE58K2WP20090923 The summit was attended by over 100 governments.

To mark the start of the Copenhagen summit, United Kingdom newspaper The Guardian ran an editorial on the summit. Fifty-six other newspapers around the world, including China, India, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Russia, the United States and Canada issued the same editorial text:

“Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, and with it our prosperity and security. The dangers have been becoming apparent for a generation. Now the facts have started to speak: 11 of the past 14 years have been the warmest on record, the Arctic ice-cap is melting and last year’s inflamed oil and food prices provide a foretaste of future havoc. In scientific journals the question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage. Yet so far the world’s response has been feeble and half-hearted.”http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2009/12/07/cop15-fifty-six-newspapers-run-guardians-climate-change-editorial/

On Friday December 4, 2009 United States President Barack Obama announced he will shift his visit to the Copenhagen summit to the final days of the summit. This is generally seen as an indication that the US government sees possibilities of reaching an agreement at the summit.http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-united-nations-climate-change-conferencehttp://www.csrwire.com/csrlive/commentary_detail/1384-COP15-Brief-Day-One-Government-Academia-and-Business-Form-Triple-Helix-for-Climate-Solutions

Part of the official statement:
"Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made to give momentum to negotiations, the President believes that continued US leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th. There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision reflects the President’s commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome."http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-united-nations-climate-change-conference

According to BBC, key states (most notably the US and China) have reached a "meaningful agreement" at the Copenhagen COP15 climate summit. The deal would be a non-binding to keep Global Warming below two degrees Celsius, and to agree on a legally binding agreement on the next Climate Summit, December 2010. The exact details of the agreements are not yest known, as ithas not yet been shared with all participating countries. The agreement is most likely in line with the draft version that has been circulating earlier on Friday.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8421880.stmhttp://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/5605666/__Akkoord_op_klimaattop__.html?p=1,1

According to sources, a most likely outcome of the Copenhagen Summit would consist of two major components:
- Global warming is limited to a maximum 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial level;
- Industrial countries raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to aid developing nations to cope with global warming
On Friday morning December 18, the last day of the summit, much of the final text was still under negotiation.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/climate-change/summit-weighs-2-degree-goal/article1404910/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4pPO-QgETQJjO7fwzZqH3KDRM5gD9CLLAUO0