UNITED NATIONS (CMC):

The United Nations has identified the Caribbean and Latin America as having a key role in designing an international post-2012 climate change agreement.

Executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer, said the region would be among countries that stand most to benefit from the new accord.

"As part of the initial phase of international climate change negotiations in 2008, there needs to be a focus on designing the mechanisms to support and enable action by developing countries, not least by countries in your region," he told ministers at the 16th Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean.