DHAKA: World leaders including US president Barack Obama are holding a summit on climate change at the United Nations.

The aim at the New York meeting is to galvanise member states to sign up to a comprehensive new global climate agreement at talks in Paris next year.

‘Climate change is the defining issue of our time. Now is the time for action,’ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said ahead of the summit.

Ban will discuss the issue with 125 heads of state and government, reports the BBC.

With so many nations attending the summit at the UN headquarters and so little time at the one-day meeting, three separate sessions will run simultaneously in three different rooms.

BDST: 1233 HRS, SEP 23, 2014