Mexico urges political will for climate

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CANCUN, Mexico, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- World leaders must recognize they are negotiating for the future of billions of people during a climate summit in Mexico, the Mexican president said.

Mexico is hosting delegates for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, pushing for a balanced approach to tackling problems associated with climate change.

The last climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, ended with few concrete agreements apart from the recognition of the challenges presented by anticipated warming trends.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said hurricanes in Mexico, massive flooding in Pakistan and raging wildfires in Russia that damaged key grain crops represented the potential dangers associated with climate change.

"Climate change is an issue that affects life on a planetary scale," he was quoted by the U.N. Environment Program as saying. "What this means is that you will not be here alone negotiating in Cancun. By your side, there will be billions of human beings, expecting you to work for all of humanity."

Robert Orr, U.N. assistant secretary-general for policy planning, said ahead of the conference he didn't think all of the issues related to global climate change would be solved at the conference.

"Significant progress is possible in Cancun," he said in a statement. "That is not to say that we expect all issues to be resolved."

The conference runs through Dec. 10.