Helen Clark

Wellington, Sept 4 NZPA - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has acknowledged there is little hope for a final deal on a post-Kyoto agreement on global warming to be signed in Copenhagen in December.

Miss Clark, who is now the UN development chief, told The Guardian newspaper in Britain, Copenhagen had to be viewed as a very important step.

"Would it be over optimistic to say that it would be the final one? Of course.

"If there's no deal as such, it won't be a failure.

"I think the conference will be positive but it won't dot every i and cross every t."