“Some of their nations could disappear entirely and as weather patterns change”, said Obama.
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As Obama himself acknowledged “advanced economies have important responsibilities, that the whole world has to be a part of this”, he said. Even a 2-degree rise will have serious consequences for food and water security, economic stability and worldwide peace.
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan brushed off Obama’s call earlier on Tuesday for a “legally binding” provision to enforce the targets that countries set for cutting carbon output.
“That’s going to be critical in us having high ambitions and holding each other accountable”, he said. However, if a non-Democrat succeeds Obama, the current president is still confident that there would be a realization of how being the US president also means being concerned about global problems, including climate change. Yvo de Boer, former head of the United Nations climate change agency, told The Associated Press.
The latest news from the United Nations climate conference in Paris, which runs through December 11.
Noting that Modi had later joined Obama at the US Mission Innovation event, Rhodes said this “demonstrates a recognition on the part of India and other countries” about making investments in basic research.
Leaders of small island nations are pleading for their survival, asking bigger countries to do more to cut emissions and help threatened nations cope with rising seas and wilder storms blamed on man-made global warming.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and President Obama have a shared understanding on how to move toward a political settlement in Syria, but added that incidents like the recent downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet stymie broader cooperation against extremism.
“It’s not going to be easy”, he said. Presidents, prime ministers and princes urged the delegates to build a better planet for future generations, hoping to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing collapse of a similar effort in Copenhagen in 2009 to reach a global climate accord.
On Tuesday, the negotiations began in earnest, with the key task of figuring out who will pay for everything the leaders say needs to be done.
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Scientists have long warned that time is short for weaning humanity off its dependence on burning fossil fuels, the backbone of the world’s energy supply and biggest source of these heat-trapping emissions.
