UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer speaks during the opening ceremony of the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali Island, Indonesia, Dec. 3, 2007. The UNFCCC will last from Dec. 3 to 14. - Xinhua

Adaptation to climate change is a reality for all countries, and a comprehensive framework that allows all countries to adapt to has to be created, said a UN climate body executive in Bali today.

"Leadership by industrialized countries must continue. It needs to be driven by the recognition that an entirely new energy future must underpin strong and sustainable growth," said Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the opening ceremony for the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the UNFCCC.

"Bold action in the North can fuel clean growth in the South. Without cooperation, technology and incentives, developing countries have little choice but to make the same mistakes that were made in rich countries," de Boer told thousands of delegates to the UN climate change conference which is to last until Dec. 14.

It is a collective responsibility to use fossil fuels, which are here to stay and will continue to be the drivers of growth, without destroying the environment, said de Boer.

He expressed hope the Bali conference will make a breakthrough in addressing climate change through the formal adoption of a negotiating agenda.