The next United Nations climate summit will be held in the Mexican coastal resort of Cancún later this year. The news has been confirmed by the Environment Ministry in Mexico City.

The summit will be held from 29 November until 10 December, with the aim of arriving at a binding agreement to combat global warming.

Climate campaigners, including former US Vice President Al Gore, had urged government leaders to meet earlier, in July. The previous UN climate summit in Copenhagen failed to result in a binding international agreement.