Which Countries Are Missing From Copenhagen Talks?

Climate change may be a global problem to confront, but the number of countries invited to the talks in Copenhagen this week—192—leaves out a few significant players that may be relevant to the discussions. Who are they, and why are they sitting this one out? The list of bench-warmers:

The Vatican: The smallest internationally recognized country isn’t an official U.N. member, and with its influence over more than a billion Catholics, it doesn’t need to be. When it comes to climate, the Vatican isn’t a problem. Both Benedict XVI and his predecessor have taken environmental issues very seriously, even positioning the Vatican to be the first carbon-neutral country in the world. Impressive, yes, but even with peripheral participation in the conference, its small size precludes it from being a large part of any solution. Except maybe in one way: if the talks are headed for a stalemate, we may see negotiators turn to religion.

Taiwan: Much of the world considers Taiwan an independent country, even though some bigger powers (including the U.S.) don’t, mainly for political reasons. Since it’s not a U.N. member state, Taiwan’s interest will be represented by China, which will have prime placement at the conference. But Taiwan remains more willing to make cuts to its emissions than more-industrial China, so the interests of both aren’t perfectly aligned. Taiwanese leaders will still attend the conference, although they’ll be limited in how they can participate. They’re also hoping that face time with other leaders might help boost Taiwan’s standing.

Greenland: This one’s a bit of a humdinger. You’d think that Greenland, sitting atop the world, would have something to say about greenhouse-gas emissions that are melting the world’s ice. The problem is, Greenland only recently became an independent country in June of this year, so it hasn’t officially been added to the U.N.—although for most of its history, the ice-covered piece of land has been a territory of Denmark, which still controls Greenland’s finances and foreign affairs. And Denmark, of course, is the host of the conference, so Greenland will be well represented at the talks. But on such a potent issue, why it’s sitting out in the cold is still a bit curious.