Fifty-six newspapers across the world have banded together to publish a joint editorial which implores leaders to "make the right choice" at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.

"Climate change has been caused over centuries, has consequences that will endure for all time and our prospects of taming it will be determined in the next 14 days", reads the frontpage editorial. It is the initiative of the British daily newspaper The Guardian and urges politicians in Copenhagen to agree the essential elements of a fair and effective deal and a firm timetable for turning it into a treaty.

The message to the top leaders has been published in 20 languages representing 45 different countries, including Chinese, Arabic and Russian. The exact wording of the text took months of negotiations. The compilers stress the urgency of the situation and say unless there is a combined decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet.

The summit opened this morning with an aim to agree curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and raise billions of euros for clean technology in developing countries. The talks will end with a meeting of 105 leaders, including US President Barack Obama on 18 December. Delegates from 192 countries will try to hammer out a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol from 1997.

Image from The Guardian