Paris conference could be climate turning point, says Obama
Media captionUS president’s climate warning “Submerged countries, abandoned cities and fields that no longer grow”
Negotiators from 195 countries will try to reach a deal within two weeks aimed at reducing global carbon emissions and limiting global warming to 2C (3.6F).
Leaders from 147 nations are addressing the meeting, known as COP21.
President Obama urged negotiators to deliver a meaningful deal, because the “next generation is watching”.
He told delegates: “Climate change could define the contours of this century more than any other (challenge).
“I came here personally to say the United States not only recognises the problem but is committed to do something about it.”
He added that recent years had shown that the global economy had grown while emissions had remained flat, breaking the old arguments for inaction “that economic growth and environmental protection were in conflict”.
Much of the discussions are expected to centre on an agreement to limit global warming to 2C (3.6F).
Assessments of more than 180 national climate action plans that have been submitted by countries suggest that if they were implemented the world would see a rise of nearer to 3C.
Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal, who declared the Paris meeting open, said strong action on carbon emissions was essential for multiple reasons.
Mr Vidal, who hosted last year’s UN climate conference in Lima, said a deal would show the world that countries can work together to fight global warming as well as terrorism.
Christiana Figueres, the head of the UN’s climate change negotiations, also addressed delegates, saying never before had a responsibility so great been in the hands of so few.
“The world is looking to you,” she said. “The world is counting on you.”
The talks are taking place amid tight security, two weeks after attacks in Paris claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.
World leaders are attending the start of the two-week meeting to give impetus to the talks, after the high-profile failure of the Copenhagen summit in 2009.
Among those attending the talks is the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. He said he was not confident that the Paris talks would produce a deal to tackle the “hideous problem” of climate change.
“We know the consequences of a rise of temperature, what it will do for the oceans, for example,” he told the BBC.
“Increasing temperature of the oceans will cause havoc amongst the fish stocks and similarly increasing the temperature of the Earth is causing the spread of deserts.
“The problems of a rise in temperatures are huge; it has to be avoided at all costs.”
The Prince of Wales said that humanity faces no greater threat than climate change, as he issued a call for immediate action to tackle rising temperatures.
Charles told the summit: “Rarely in human history have so many people around the world placed their trust in so few.
“Your deliberations over the next two weeks will decide the fate not only of those alive today, but also of generations yet unborn.”
BBC
