By VIOLET MENGO

Delegates from more than 190 countries are in Warsaw for COP19, the 19th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the latest round of negotiations towards an international climate agreement.

Likely to be among the most outspoken in the talks are the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This group, which represents around one billion people from the world’s poorest countries, has high hopes for the climate talks.

The LDCs have contributed less than one per cent to historical greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, they are suffering disproportionately from the impacts of climate change. People living in these countries from 2010 to mid-2013 were five times more likely to die from climate related disasters than people living anywhere else.

The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report in September paints a grim picture of increased climate impacts for the LDCs in the coming years, including increasingly severe tropical storms, droughts and floods. That’s why the LDCs come to COP19 ready to negotiate lasting solutions for the people most vulnerable to climate change.