Minutes after touching down in Paris, US President Barack Obama joined his French counterpart Francois Hollande to lay flowers at the Bataclan concert hall, the site of the worst of the bloodshed. In addition to dealing with cyber issues and the South China Sea, Obama said he also wanted to discuss how China can help support efforts to fight the Islamic State. Democratic presidential candidates say global warming is a huge problem, and are backing Obama’s plans to do a deal.
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COP21 live: The latest updates from Paris.
The summit will be held in tight security.
At the inauguration today, scheduled for 11:00 local time, the agenda includes speeches by UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon, French President Francois Hollande and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is the chairman of COP21.
“It’s an opportunity to stand in solidarity with our oldest ally… and reaffirm our commitment to protect our people and our way of life from terrorist threats”, Obama said in a Facebook post before leaving Washington. “Never have the stakes been so high because this is about the future of the planet, the future of life”.
Reporters at a news conference hosted by the Canadian government leading up to the summit got a taste of what the rest of the world might be thinking after the global negotiations wrap up in two weeks.
The UN climate change conference will open in Paris on Monday and run until December 11th.
Hollande said authorities knew “troubling elements” would arrive in Paris for the talks, and said that was why “these sorts of assemblies were banned and some were ordered to stay home”. “You have the power to secure the well-being of this, and the succeeding generations”.
And the Prince urged the leaders and negotiators to “think of your grandchildren, as I think of mine”.
The EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gases by at least 40% by 2030 while China has vowed that its emissions will peak by 2030. Therefore, the 21st Conference of Parties is of great significance.
On November 29, hundreds of thousands of people from Australia to Paraguay took part in demonstrations to demand leaders take firm action against global warming.
Organisers of the display said that the Vatican donated a pair of shoes bearing the name of Pope Francis.
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Paris police say 317 people were detained after an unauthorized protest seeking to call attention to climate change, which ended with police firing tear gas at protesters throwing bottles and candles.
