Ban Ki-Moon

The U.N. environmental agency is pressuring Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to call an emergency summit on new measures to fight global warming.

Speaking to journalists in Kenya's capital Nairobi Tuesday, Mr. Ban said the Kenyan government has offered to host the summit.  He stopped short of endorsing the idea, but said he would discuss it with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

A U.N. environmental spokesman says momentum is building for the proposed conference, which would take place in September.

Both President Bush and the European Union recently said more must be done to reduce so-called greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

This week, scientists are set to issue a new report warning that warmer temperatures could lead to rising sea levels and more violent weather.

Scientists are holding a four-day meeting in Paris to finalize the report before it is issued Friday.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, in which many countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse emissions, expires in 2012.  The United States and Australia are the only major industrialized nations that rejected the treaty.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.