14 December 2009: In a press conference held prior to his departure to Copenhagen, Denmark, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that decades of efforts to tackle climate change will “come down to this one critical week.”
He appealed to the Heads of State and government who will attend the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference to “do what this moment requires,” emphasizing the urgency to take action. Underling the unprecedented political momentum, Ban expressed his confidence that negotiators will “lay a foundation for a robust, fair and comprehensive agreement that can be turned into a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010.” He added that some tangible progress on core issues of technology cooperation and financing had been made during the first week of the Conference, and underscored the need for greater clarity on a robust finance package for the middle and longer-term. [Press Conference Transcript]