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Ban upbeat on Bali agreement

17 December 2007

The United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has extended his visit to Indonesia to oversee the critical phase of negotiating at the pivotal climate change conference.

His spokesperson said the Mr Ban was working to ensure a successful conclusion to the 'landmark' conference in Bali, adding that the 'successful launch' of the negotiation process was a top priority and a defining issue of our time.

Mr Ban has held bilateral talks with government ministers from China, India, Japan and Saudi Arabia as well as business leaders attending the three-day high-level portion of the Conference.

He told journalists on Friday that the negotiators from 190 countries have "a political and historical responsibility" to reach a deal.

Importantly, he said he felt that all countries, including the US, wanted a deal.

But analysts said that the US, Japan and others dispute calls for cuts of emissions of greenhouse gases by 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels.

Mr Ban forecasted an agreement would be penned as long as nations did not become fixated on emission targets.

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