The third session of UN climate talks opened in Bonn on Monday, focusing on the negotiating text that was drafted at the second round of UN climate talks.

"We are at an exciting point in the negotiations which can lead us to the turning point in the fight against climate change at Copenhagen," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"At the UNFCCC Bonn session in June, the negotiating text was enriched and expanded. At this meeting, governments have a significant opportunity to make further concrete and substantive progress on the text, narrowing down options and simplifying and shortening the negotiating text," he added.

Six negotiation sessions are planned this year, which are expected to culminate in an ambitious and effective international climate change deal in Copenhagen in December. The Copenhagen outcome is to follow on the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2009)