The announcement came from the French Prime Minister, Mr. Manuel Valls on Monday. France will chair and host the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21/CMP11), from November 30 to December 11.
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A massive rally, like the climate march that took place in New York City a year ago, is planned for Paris on November 29, the day before the opening of the climate talks.
Demonstrations have been banned in France after a state of emergency was declared following the attacks that killed 129 people on Friday.
According to spokesman of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, Nick Nuttall, he reassures that security during the U.N. climate conferences will be extremely tight and more secure in light of what happened to Paris.
Despite the countries’ resolve, French leaders said the climate conference will be pared back significantly, focusing exclusively on the talks required to meet an worldwide deal on global emissions reductions.
Organisers had expected the marches to attract around 200,000 people to put pressure on world leaders to reach a deal to tackle climate change.
The climate talks will be staffed by United Nations security guards, who will be flown into Paris especially for the conference.
He said that while the Philippine government’s response to disasters has improved, the biggest challenge is to move residents on coastal communities that will likely be affected when storms hit.
France, with the backing of the European Union, has worked furiously to make the climate talks a success and Paris officials bristled at the reluctance by certain countries at the G20 to include its basic objectives in the statement. Side-events as well as protests and demonstrations will not take place. Numerous events already planned in Paris for the two weeks of COP21 are also going forward, including the Pathway to Paris concert with Thom Yorke, Patti Smith, Flea and others.
As a moment of hope, COP21 in Paris will tell how much the whole world stands in solidarity, and how much the whole world also needs to mobilise its efforts to combat climate change, as it needs to unite to combat terrorism.
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But campaigners organising the march say they want to do all they can to ensure the Paris rally can go ahead and will be talking to the French authorities to see what is possible.
