THE UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, frustrated at the glacial pace of crucial climate change negotiations, is looking to the summit he will host next week to “get world leaders moving” towards a deal that could avert catastrophic global warming.

With time running out before a December meeting in Copenhagen that is designed to seal an international climate change deal, the UN secretary general acknowledged he was looking to the summit of nearly 100 world leaders at the United Nations next Tuesday to break through the distrust between rich and poor countries.

“We are deeply concerned that the negotiation is not making much headway. It is absolutely and crucially important for the leaders to demonstrate their political will, leadership, and to give clear political guidelines to the negotiators. They should be responsible for the future of this entire humanity,” Ban told this reporter.

Ban, newly returned from a trip to the Arctic, sees action on climate change as his personal legacy as UN chief. He said he hoped the unprecedented size of the climate meeting, the high level of representation and an unconventional format would transform the talks.

The UN summit is at the centre of a high-level push - along with a meeting on Thursday of climate change negotiators in Washington.

—The Guardian, London