Ban Ki-moon says detailed climate deal unlikely

LONDON (Reuters) - Governments are unlikely to agree on all the details of a new global climate change deal when they meet in Copenhagen next month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday.

While optimistic that the 192 countries will be able to reach some sort of political agreement, Ban warned it would not be the last word on a successor to the United Nations' carbon-cutting Kyoto Protocol.

"We need the political will because if there is the political will I am sure that there is a political way that we can conclude a binding agreement in Copenhagen," he said after talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London.

"I am reasonably optimistic that Copenhagen will be a very important milestone. At the same time, realistically speaking, we may not be able to have all the words on detailed matters."

Instead, countries should aim to agree on four points: the level of rich nations' emissions cuts; poor nations' plans to reduce their emissions; a financial package to help developing countries to adapt and a system for managing the process.

RICH AND POOR DIVIDED

Negotiations on a new treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to slow global warming have faltered repeatedly since their launch in 2007.

Rich and poor nations are divided over how to share cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and over the amount of money developing countries need to adapt to global warming and how to raise it.

Speaking later at a conference on religion and the environment near London, Ban urged rich states to take the initiative.

"First and foremost, the developed countries should lead this campaign, considering all these historic responsibilities and also considering that they are the countries that have most of the capacities -- financial and technological," he said.

Failure to reach a deal will lead to more energy, food and water shortages and endanger millions of people, particularly those in poorer nations, he said.

Brown, who has said he will attend the talks in Copenhagen next month, said he and Ban were determined to make progress in the Danish capital.

"We believe it is possible to get an agreement on long-term targets and on intermediate targets and at the same time to get the finance in place that will allow developing countries to know that they are being given the proper protection when they take action to deal with climate change," he said.

In a sign of the divisions to be overcome, African nations boycotted U.N. climate talks in Barcelona on Tuesday in a protest to urge rich countries to set deeper 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.