The head of the World Council of Churches (WCC) the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia said on Sunday that the "level of ambition must be drastically increased" at the Copenhagen negotiations in order to seal a legally binding and fair deal on carbon emissions policies.

Speaking to a group of COP15 leaders at an informal dinner, Kobia said that "increasing public concern" about climate change "is an indication of how important this issue is."

"[A]s we listen to our church members and the members of other religious communities, the momentum of so many voices calling for action has created a window of opportunity for you to reach agreements on a real and ambitious outcome," the general secretary said.

"The people are ready. Our churches are ready. Are you ready to move forward?" he asked the delegation gathered.

Kobia also noted that the first week of the Copenhagen summit "did not lead to any breakthrough" and noted that "minimal" development was made on several topics.

In order to guarantee an agreement, Kobia urged leaders to place this week's focus on the content of the Bali road map – a two-year plan adopted at COP13 in 2007 designed to ensure that a binding agreement would be reached in 2009. The WCC head also noted that this approach will require "substantive progress within the mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance negotiation tracks."

Copenhagen agenda items mentioned specifically by Kobia during the dinner included reaching the target of a maximum 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise, the cutting of carbon emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020 in relation to 1990 levels, and "substantial financial and technological support" in the short term and long term for developing countries.

On Monday a group of wealthy nations including the United States announced their commitment towards a plan to spend 350 million US dollars to help supply developing countries with clean energy technology – a plan likened by US energy secretary Steven Chu to the seed technology breakthrough that helped bring Asian countries out of poverty.

"We need a gamechanger like the green revolution was for agriculture," Chu said of the plan.

Other countries participating in the fund included Australia, Britain, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

Last week, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer proposed a 10 billion US dollar "fast track" funding plan for developing countries designed to last from 2010 to 2012. The plan has garnered strong support from among the 192 UN member states according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who also urged delegates on Monday to "double their efforts" to reach "a comprehensive, fair agreement that can be turned into a legally binding treaty."

"Now is the moment to act," Ban said. "Seldom in history has a choice been so clear. We can move toward a future of sustainable green growth, or we can continue down the road to ruin."

"We can act on climate change now, or we can leave it to our children and grandchildren -- a debt that can never be paid, a poisoned legacy that threatens our planet and its people," he said.