"Nothing that has come out in the public as a result of the recent email hackings has cast doubt on the basic scientific message on climate change and that message is quite clear -- that climate change is happening much, much faster than we realized and we human beings are the primary cause," he said.
Ban was reacting to a row over leaked emails from Britain's University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit, which showed some scientists' efforts to boost the credibility of climate change at the expense of skeptics.
Speaking about U.N. climate talks in Denmark that began on Monday, Ban said he expected the meeting would be successful, despite widespread expectations it will fail to yield a legally binding agreement on global targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
"I am encouraged and I am optimistic," he told reporters. "I expect a robust agreement at the Copenhagen summit meeting that will be effective immediately and include specific recommendations on mitigation (of the effects of climate change), adaptation, finance and technology."
"This agreement will have an immediate operational effect, as soon as it is agreed," he added.
A key sticking point in the talks is the debate over providing financial aid to poor and developing nations to help them make their economies environmentally friendly and withstand the impacts of a warming climate.
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