UN climate summit stops short of endorsement

The UN climate conference has ended with a bare minimum agreement. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conceded the "Copenhagen Accord" may be a disappointment to some, but stressed it was an essential beginning.

There was spontaneous applause as the climate conference's plenary session President Philip Weech announced parties attending the climate conference agree to "note" the "Copenhagen accord."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says it is a step in the right direction, although he agreed the accord might not be everything that everyone had hoped for.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, said, "All countries agreed to work towards a common long term goal to agree to limit global temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius. Many countries made the important commitment to reduce or eliminate emissions."

The accord is a non-binding deal for combating global warming.

Ban highlights three tests that lay before world leaders, turning the agreement into a legally binding treaty, the launch of the Copenhagen green climate fund and finally pursing "the road of higher ambition."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon reacts during a press conference in Copenhagen Saturday Dec. 19, 2009.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)