CLIMATE-SUMMIT/FRANCE-CONFERENCE France's Hollande opens climate conference ahead of COP21 summit

Record ID: 146411

  • Title: CLIMATE-SUMMIT/FRANCE-CONFERENCE France's Hollande opens climate conference ahead of COP21 summit
  • Date: 21st July 2015
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JULY 21, 2015) (AGENCY POOL) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE ARRIVING FOR CLIMATE CONFERENCE HOLLANDE SHAKING HANDS WITH OFFICIALS AND MINISTERS, INCLUDING FRENCH ECOLOGY MINISTER, SEGOLENE ROYAL (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "The meaning of this meeting is to assemble all of the
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA21M78PJI9HZGOLC01IZDM1I6C
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: French President Francois Hollande welcomed world leaders to the French capital Tuesday (July 21) for a climate conference ahead of the UN summit (COP21) that will take place later this year.
    The meeting, dubbed the Summit of Conscience for the Climate, gathered 40 global religious, intellectual and "moral" leaders to discuss the pertinence of making changes to reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming.
    "What takes place today is very important. There will be women and men from every continent, who have every conviction and religion possible on the planet, and who are coming together to send a single message: an agreement should be made in Paris at the climate conference. It's not an issue for heads of state and governments, this is an issue for all the residents of the world," Hollande told journalists as he arrived for the summit.
    Notable people who spoke included Irish President Michael Higgins, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Prince Albert II of Monaco, who said dialogues must be started to reach an effective solution.
    "Everything that can facilitate a better comprehension, a better understanding of all of these problems can only help us find a solution to these problems, to this environmental issue in general," Prince Albert said.
    Hollande, addressing the conference in an opening speech, said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached at the COP21 summit, which takes place in Paris from November 30 to December 11.
    "Yes, France is a country of liberty that occasionally thinks it can forge new paths. And I think that in December 2015, like in 1789 when the French Revolution produced great hope for the world, history can be written in Paris this time around for the future of the planet. Because we're still talking about liberty, liberty for our children, liberty to quite simply live," he said.
    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month criticised negotiations, launched almost four years ago in South Africa, as advancing at a "snail's pace".
    The United Nations says national plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, submitted as the building blocks of the Paris agreement, will not be enough to limit warming to a U.N. goal of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
    That means a need for flexibility to ratchet up ambitions in an accord meant to limit greenhouse gases, blamed by the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists for causing more heat waves, floods and rising sea levels.
    Major emitters led by China and the United States have submitted national plans for cuts in greenhouse gases beyond 2020 to the United Nations, as building blocks for the Paris accord. Japan submitted its plan on Friday.
    Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan told the conference that strong leadership was key to reaching an agreement this time around.
    "Let us develop a global conscience based on the well-being of our planet that transcends national boundaries or group and self interests. Every nation and every individual working together must strive to defeat the threat of global warming. We can succeed, but it would require sustained and determined leadership," Annan said.
    Last week, a report based on talks with negotiators indicated strong will in nations to reach a climate agreement in 2015. Negotiations failed in 2009 at the last attempt at a summit in Copenhagen.
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