UN Ban Ki-Moon: Humans are 'primary cause' of Climate change

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that the hacked emails on climate change from the British university, have not affected the United Nations belief that humans are increasing climate change.

The emails were hacked from computers at Britain's University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit last month. As some of the emails seem to reflect attempts by mainstream scientists to block publication of articles by dissenting researchers, the affair has been dubbed “Climategate” by the media.

Nothing that has come out in the public as a result of the recent email hackings has cast doubt on the basic scientific message on climate change and that message is quite clear -- that climate change is happening much, much faster than we realized and we human beings are the primary cause, Mr. Ban said.

Speaking about U.N. climate talks in Denmark that began on Monday, Ban said the conference must be the turning point in global efforts to prevent runaway global warming and usher in a new era of environmentally sustainable growth.

I am encouraged and I am optimistic. I expect a robust agreement at the Copenhagen summit meeting that will be effective immediately and include specific recommendations on mitigation (of the effects of climate change), adaptation, finance and technology, he said.

This agreement will have an immediate operational effect, as soon as it is agreed, he added.

His remarks come as scientists released new data showing the first decade of this century will likely turn out to be the warmest ever.

The findings from the World Meteorological Association also predict 2009 will be the 5th warmest year since global record-keeping began in 1850.

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