CLIMATE CHANGE-SUMMIT/EMERGENCY "Later is too late," warns France on global warming

Record ID: 140106

  • Title: CLIMATE CHANGE-SUMMIT/EMERGENCY "Later is too late," warns France on global warming
  • Date: 10th September 2015
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 10, 2015) (REUTERS FOR AGENCY POOL) EXTERIOR OF FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL PALACE VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE COP21 CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT FRENCH FLAG COURTYARD OF PRESIDENTIAL PALACE WITH GREEN CARPET FRENCH FLAG AND COP21 CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT LOGO VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE SLOGAN FOR SUMMIT READING (French): "FRANCE IS COMMITTED TO THE CLIMATE, COP21." AUDIENCE LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 25th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC63EQ7GFS2WIAIREYZ73B2HJF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday (September 10) that it was "vital" an agreement be reached on climate change at a United Nations summit in Paris (COP-21) later this year.
    Hundreds of guests from the civil society, NGOs and political figures in France were invited for the presentation of the COP-21 meeting which will seek a binding agreement on how to share the burden of capping global warming at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels or lower.
    France, which is hosting the event, warned that the world could not afford to fail this time round.
    "It's vital also because if we manage to change things and fight climate change it will create jobs and this is understood more and more by populations and it is vital also for a reason which we do not always see. This negotiation isn't like other ones. In other negotiations we might think that if it fails there's always the possibility to start over the following year but it is not at all the case here. It is about limiting the production of greenhouse gases. If we can't manage, those greenhouse gases aren't going to simply disappear, they will stay in our atmosphere for months, decades, centuries and so it will be too late. Later will be too late. And so it is this time round in Paris that we need an agreement because it is vital," Fabius said.
    The United Nations said on Sept. 4 that talks were on track for the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 summit after a week of negotiations in Bonn made progress in clarifying options about everything from cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to raising aid to developing nations.
    Almost 200 governments agreed in 2010 that a 2 degree Celsius rise was the maximum allowable to avert the heaviest impact of climate change, including floods, droughts and rising sea levels. About 100 developing nations favour a tougher ceiling of 1.5 degrees.
    The plans submitted so far to the United Nations by about 60 nations represent 70 percent of world emissions and are deemed too weak to keep temperatures below the agreed ceiling of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times needed to avoid the worst effects of warming.
    Some emerging nations do not want to commit themselves until they are assured that developing nations will receive $100 billion per year from 2020 to adapt to the impact of climate change.
    "The truth, we need to stop talking and start acting. What we are promising we need to be able to carry out. And the keyword I would say is 'solidarity' I think that we are now forced - and it's great - to share our means, our wealth and our technology," said French ecologist Nicolas Hulot, climate advisor to Hollande.
    Fabius, who hosted some 60 countries in the French capital on Monday to add impetus to the negotiations, said he would convene a larger ministerial meeting by mid-November to ensure that much of the work was completed before the Paris summit.
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