14 July 2009: Five top UN officials have added their names to an online petition urging world leaders to “Seal the Deal” on an ambitious new climate change agreement at the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 15) in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December.

Adding their names to the list are: Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO); Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO); and Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The petition calls on world leaders to, inter alia: Seal the Deal on a climate agreement that is definitive, equitable and effective; set binding targets to cut greenhouses gases by 2020; establish a framework that will bolster the climate resilience of vulnerable countries; support developing countries’ adaptation efforts; and spur green growth. [UN press release] [The petition]