VIENNA: A deal will be "crucial" in upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen for the survival of the planet and of mankind, United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki moon said on Friday.
"We must see a deal," Ban said at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the UN's headquarters in Vienna.
"The world is looking for the UN to find a solution. This issue is crucially important for the future of our humanity and our planet earth," the UN chief said.
More than 180 nations are due to negotiate an agreement to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions in Copenhagen in December.
Ban confirmed he would visit the Arctic Circle in September to see for himself "the melting of the glaciers of the North Pole".
The UN chief is scheduled to arrive in Oslo on August 31 for an official visit where he will be received by Norway's King Harald V, and hold meetings with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
He will also place a wreath on the tomb of Trygve Lie, the first secretary general of the United Nations.
The following day, on September 1, Ban will head to Longyearbyen, a town on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The UN chief will spend two days visiting polar stations and research institutes on the island, which is part of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic ocean.
Ban hopes "to see firsthand the impact of climate change in the Arctic," his spokeswoman Michele Montas said earlier this week.
