US most important country for climate deal: UN Chief

UNITED NATIONS: Stressing that failed action on climate change could have catastrophic consequences, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the United States to take a leading role in ensuring a successful outcome of the Copenhagen conference next month.

"No country is more important than the United States in resolving this climate change issue," Ban said, after meeting with Congressional leaders and Washington's top brass including US Senators John Kerry, Richard Lugar and Joe Lieberman.

"All eyes of the world are looking to the United States and to this august body, the US Senate," he said, adding that the Copenhagen Climate Conference should yield "a robust, global agreement that can serve as a foundation for a climate treaty."

Around 192 countries that will meet in the Danish capital next month are expected to hammer out a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol since the first commitment period under this treaty ends in 2012.

Ban underlined that battling climate change would involve economic costs to all nations in the short-term but delaying action would leave all of humanity suffering in the long-run.