A huge cast of characters will debate, cajole and eventually decide a deal. John Harris selects his climate heroes – plus one villainMohammed al-Sabban Senior economic adviser, Saudi ArabiaMoustachioed high-up in his country's ministry of petroleum and mineral resources, leader of the Saudi Arabian negotiating team, and a reasonable bet for Copenhagen's most likely villain. "The awkward squad will always include Saudi Arabia," says one Copenhagen insider, though disappointment with America may lead to the US taking most flak. Al-Sabban is seen as a vocal obstructer of any convincing agreement. If a deal goes through, he wants serious compensation from the industrialised west for losses that may run into billions — though his detractors point to Saudi Arabia's vast wealth and wonder why he shouts so loud.Bernaditas de Castro Muller Lead negotiator, G77 countries plus
ChinaRetired Filipino diplomat, and a genuine diplomatic celebrity, known to her friends as "Ditas" and enemies as "dragon woman". Lives in Geneva with her Swiss economist husband, and heads up a misleadingly named umbrella group of 130 developing countries, more than likely to splinter as the talks progress. Her essential position: that most rich countries have failed to live up to their
Kyoto pledges, so trying to rope poorer nations into a legally binding new agreement and thereby threaten their growth is an act of massive post-imperial arrogance. In Copenhagen's first few days — when negotiators will run the show, prior to the mass arrival of ministers from the 12th onwards — she'll be pushing particularly hard for big transfers of cash from rich to poor countries.Kevin Conrad Special envoy on climate change, Papua New GuineaThe 41-year-old Harvard graduate is probably the most high-profile representative of the 42-strong Alliance of Small Island States. Famous in climate change circles since his irate challenge to the US at the 2007 climate talks in
Bali ("If for some reason ...
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