Through a serendipitous piece of scheduling, a COP15 side event on human rights and climate change was held today, 10th December: International Human Rights Day. A panel of experts, including several from vulnerable indigenous communities in Africa, the Arctic and small islands, addressed the links between climate change and human rights. They made a compelling case for viewing climate change as a human rights issue.

Today is the first day of the international climate summit in Copenhagen. The opening formalities for one of the largest and most important gatherings in history are being completed and the representatives of 192 nations are now starting the business of bringing together the high politics and the legal details into an agreement. Whether there will be an agreement, what form it might take and whether it will be enough are open questions. But the stakes and the pressure for action could not be higher.