UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on December 7 that a legally binding treaty on climate change will be reached in 2010.
He made the statement several hours after the opening ceremony of the 15 th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
The UN chief said that the UN’s goal is to reach an agreement on a legally binding treaty on climate change as soon as possible and urged all UNFCCC members to make a strong political commitment to speed up the process and come up with a treaty.
The UN Secretary General will attend the senior-level part of the conference, which will be held on December 15, according to Martin Nesirky – a spokesman for the UN Secretary General.
According to him, the Secretary General expects "a robust agreement at Copenhagen that will come into effect immediately and include specific commitments on alleviating the plight of countries seriously affected by climate change, providing finance for developing countries to adapt to climate changes and introducing new and existing technologies.”
“Copenhagen can and must be the turning point in global efforts to prevent climate change getting completely out of control and usher in a new era of green growth for all," said Ban Ki-moon.
The Copenhagen conference will conclude on Dec. 18./.