Citing Cambodia’s vulnerability to climate change, civil society groups have called for global responses to the issue as the United Nations prepares for its annual climate change convention in Lima, Peru.

The 20th Conference of Parties, which runs Monday to December to 12, will bring together representatives from more than 40 nations.

The United Nations has suggested a global accord is the aim of next year’s convention in Paris. Even so, a joint statement released yesterday by groups including the NGO Forum on Cambodia urges countries to consider this year what commitments they will make.

“As one of the poorest and most vulnerable countries to climate change, Cambodia requires financial resources to respond to the negative impacts,” the statement says. Countries, it adds, need to set clear emission reduction targets to restrict a temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 and ensure that support to least developed countries comes in the form of grants, not loans.