Ban Ki Moon

Pato made the invitation on behalf of Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, during his attendance at the 71st United National General Assembly (UNGA) meeting.

The UN Secretary General has twice visited the Pacific, landing in countries such as Samoa, Kiribati, and Tonga, except PNG.

“I have renewed that invitation last year in bi-lateral talks with him, so I’ve asked him to start his last trip to the Pacific here from Papua New Guinea,” said Pato.

The meeting was aimed at producing the most far-reaching pact yet to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and avert environmental havoc.

"We should ask what will we say to our grandchildren if we fail," British Prime Minister David Cameron said as the U.N. climate summit opened under heavy security on the outskirts of Paris, two weeks after the extremist attacks that left 130 people dead. "Instead of making excuses tomorrow, let's take action today."

The agreement will accelerate investments in clean energy and spur a global, low-carbon transformation well before the end of the century, consistent with a below 2 degrees Celsius pathway.

“Leaders expressed their resolve to finalize a durable, meaningful agreement in Paris that applies to all countries,” Ban told reporters following a high-level working lunch held on the margins of the UN Sustainable Development Summit, which opened in New York on Friday and wraps up later today.