The 18th United Nations climate change conference, known as COP18 , has opened in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Over the next two weeks, up to 17,000 people will attend the conference. Delegates will be negotiating a new global deal on climate, but there are ongoing tensions between rich and poor countries.

The meeting elected the former Qatari energy minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, as president of the Conference of the Parties.

In his opening remarks he said the meeting was "critical" and a "golden opportunity" to make progress on a new global climate deal.

"This is an historic conference," said Attiyah, "it is of vital importance considering the items on its agenda. It is a turning point in the negotiations on climate change."

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Al Jazeera's Nick Clark interviews Asad Rahman, senior campaigner for Friends of the Earth International (FoE):