Top United Nations officials joined invited climate experts today in urging decisive action on a global scale to combat the challenges posed by climate change.

"We cannot continue with business as usual," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a General Assembly meeting on the issue at UN Headquarters in New York. He cited the findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which confirmed earlier this year that global warming is directly linked to human activities.

"I believe this is just the kind of global challenge that the UN is best suited to address," said Ban. "I am gratified by the universal recognition that the UN climate process is the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action."

"I am determined to minimize the UN system’s own carbon footprint, and to make this a climate-neutral organization," the secretary-general said. "To that end, I have launched a Greening the UN initiative. I have invited all heads of agencies and other UN bodies to work with me on a comprehensive plan covering our worldwide premises and operations."