"I hope the leaders of the G8 and the Major Economies Forum who will be meeting in the coming days will rise to the challenge and announce significant courses of action... to give a push in the right direction.

"If the leaders do not take the necessary decisions, they will have to take responsibility for the lack of results in Copenhagen and the failure to reach an agreement that is vital for humankind," Connie Hedegaard said.

The Danish minister was speaking to AFP in an interview at the close of a four-day climate meeting in Greenland gathering top officials from 29 countries and from all continents.

The G8 summit of the world's leading industrial countries is to take place from July 8-10 in the Italian quake-hit city of L'Aquila and will be attended by nearly 40 heads of state and government.

Negotiations to strike a new deal to tackle global warming by the end of the year at a UN summit in the Danish capital have been foundering over disagreements on emissions targets and a rift between industrialised and emerging nations on the burden of responsibility for deeper cuts.

Hedegaard, 48, has repeatedly expressed fears negotiations are moving too slow ahead of the December 7-18 summit, and called on world leaders to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the wrangling now.

"Only a strong, high-level political commitment starting now can save the summit from failure, because it will not be possible to resolve all of the problems on the last night in Copenhagen.

"It's very important that the ministers and heads of state and government get very involved in the months to come, because what we will be deciding in Copenhagen is a political choice."

One of the biggest hurdles to reaching an agreement will be the issue of financing, she said.

Industrialised countries "must show a willingness to provide new financing to poor countries, because it all comes down to the credibility of this project. And the promises have to be more than just good intentions."

Emerging countries also have to contribute to the efforts though since developed countries "cannot carry out this mission alone.

"Everybody holds the key to the success of the Copenhagen summit, in particular the United States who play an important role and whose climate policy has changed radically for the better with the arrival in power of Barack Obama," she said.

Governments must reach an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen, "because we don't have a 'Plan B' in case of a failure.

"There will be serious consequences for the Earth's climate, and also democratically speaking, if politicians prove themselves unable to rise to the global challenges of the 21st century," Hedegaard warned.

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