PARIS - Officials from 113 countries agreed Thursday that a much-awaited international report will say that global warming was "very likely" caused by human activity, delegates to a climate change conference said.

Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opens a summit in Paris. "Concerns about climate change and public awareness of the subject are at an all-time high," noted Pachauri.[AFP]

Dozens of scientists and bureaucrats are editing the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in closed-door meetings in Paris. Their report, which must be unanimously approved, is to be released Friday.

Two participants, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meetings are confidential, said the group approved the term "very likely" in Thursday's sessions. That means they agree that there is a 90 percent chance that global warming is human-caused.

The last report, in 2001, said global warming was "likely" caused by human activity. There had been speculation that the participants might try to change the wording this time to "virtually certain," which means a 99 percent chance.

The report is considered an authoritative document that could influence government and industrial policy worldwide.