Ban Ki-moon says detailed climate deal unlikely

By Peter Griffiths

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.