Rome, Dec 4 : Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has received a chilly warning from the environmental activist group Greenpeace ahead of the global climate change summit in Copenhagen.

Activists from the group created an ice statue depicting the premier in the Italian capital, Rome, to highlight the risk of global warming.

One activist was arrested for displaying a banner next to the statue that read: "Berlusconi, don't be stupid. Save the climate".

Greenpeace said the ice statue was due to melt by next Monday when the United Nations climate change conference is due to begin in the Danish capital.

In a statement, the group praised Berlusconi for attending the Copenhagen climate conference but warned him that inaction could be disastrous.

The statue has been placed in Rome's central Via dei Fori Imperiali overlooking the Colosseum and next to a bronze statue of Julius Caesar.

"We told Italy's anti-terrorism police that we will stay here, outside in the street until the statue melts or until the government answers our request," Greenpeace spokesperson Francesco Tedesco told AKI.

"The activists are ready to remain here for four days. We will remain steadfast."

"There is a need to pursue coherent environmental policies here in Italy, policies that at the moment we do not see. So Berlusconi risks being a leader who 'melts'," Tedesco added.

"A renewable energy revolution based on efficiency, without going back to nuclear energy, is possible in Italy," said Giuseppe Onufrio, executive director of Greenpeace in a statement.

"We ask the prime minister and the respective ministers... to make Italy a leader in the fight against climate change."

The purpose of the climate conference Dec 7-18 is to assess progress and challenges in coping with global climate change.

US president Barack Obama, Berlusconi and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao are among world leaders from 100 countries expected to attend the conference.

About 12,000 delegates and specialists from more than 170 countries are planning to attend the event.(IANS/AKI)