U.N. to hold climate-change meeting

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- U.N. officials hope a summit meeting in New York on climate change will give world leaders the political cover they need to take action on climate change.

The United Nations called the meeting Tuesday in hopes that discussions among heads of state and prime ministers would produce an international commitment to cutting emissions, The New York Times reports. That would make political leaders less likely to face domestic accusations of hurting their countries' economic prospects.

"I have been urging them to speak and to act as global leaders, just go beyond their national boundaries," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Thursday.

While negotiators in Copenhagen have produced a document more than 200 pages long, there is little consensus on steps to reduce emissions significantly. Much of the agreement consists of bracketed dissent.

"They won't do it one by one," said Robert Orr, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for policy planning. "Politically, they all have to jump together, and this is the essence of this summit. We will see if any governments are ready to say, 'I am stepping through the door now; are you going to come with me?' That would be a huge break."