U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that he will travel to the Peru climate conference next week hopeful that delegates will draft an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change. Ban told reporters that he is encouraged by new targets for fossil fuel use announced recently by the United States and China as well as the European Union and Germany. Delegates from over 190 countries are working on a draft deal to be adopted next December in Paris. Divisions between rich and poor nations have slowed negotiations on a new climate pact over the years. The U.N. chief called the two-week meeting in Lima, Peru, "crucial."
