COP 21: Leaders say Paris summit show of strength against terrorists

Leaders gathered at the UN summit on climate change in Paris have said that the seminal conference represents an act of defiance following the barbaric attacks in the European city, which left 130 people dead and scores others injured.

“We have come to Paris to show our resolve to protect our people, and to uphold the values that keep us strong and keep us free. We salute the people of Paris for insisting that this crucial conference will go on,” said US President Barack Obama on the first day of the two week conference.

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, with leaders from 147 nations addressing the meeting. The talks are being considered a last chance for coordinated global action on climate change under the UN, and if these talks fail to produce an agreement, the world will be left without an international commitment to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Obama added that the attendance of world leaders was a “rejection of those who would tear down our world”. Drawing parallels between the ravages of climate change and terrorism, he said that for all the challenges people face, climate change will define this century more dramatically than any other.

He warned that the consequences of climate change included abandoned cities,  fields that no longer grow, political disruptions and desperate peoples seeking sanctuary in nations other than their own.

 “This future is one that we have the power to change – right here, right now,” he said.

“One of the enemies we will be fighting at this conference is cynicism – the presumption that we can’t do anything about climate change.”

In her own speech, German chancellor Angela Merkel also made reference to the Paris terrorist attacks.

“Through our presence here today we show we are stronger than the terrorists,” she said.

Merkel added that Paris is about creating a possible life for future generations and that the Paris climate deal must be comprehensive, ambitious, fair and binding.

Merkel said that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – plans submitted by individual governments to combat climate change- that had been submitted ahead of the summit, were a sign of hope, but that even with these plans, temperatures would not be kept below 2C.

“The Paris deal must show how that gap can be closed,” she said adding that the UN should show it could deliver what was promised in Copenhagen - $100bn a year in climate aid to poorer countries by 2020.

She added that the Paris deal should have a review mechanism for countries’ climate plans, and that countries must live up to their commitments.

The risk of leaving poor nations behind in the quest for a new climate treaty has been greatly discussed with Obama stressing that poor nations must receive particular help in this respect.

“We must reaffirm our commitment that the resources will be there [in financial assistance for the developing world]. We must make sure these resources [of climate finance] fall to countries that need help … and help vulnerable populations rebuild stronger after climate related disasters.”

Adding that the US embraced its responsibility as the world’s largest economy and second largest emitter, Obama urged members to act, and called for unity among world leaders attending the talks.

Chinese president Xi Jinping also stressed that tackling climate change must not stop countries developing, and said it is imperative to respect differences between countries’ level of development and ability to cut emissions.

“Addressing climate change should not impair countries’ ability to develop,” he said, adding that the Paris conference should encourage all countries, in particular developed countries, to assume more responsibilities.

Russian president Vladmir Putin on his part, spoke about how climate change has become one of the worst challenges humanity is facing and that it is causing increasingly tangible economic damage.

“Russia will continue contributing to joint efforts aimed at preventing global warming,” he added.

Earlier on, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged countries to come to a deal:

 “Leaders of the world, the future of our people and our planet is in your hands. We need a universal, meaningful and robust agreement.”

“We have never faced such a test. A political momentum like this may not come again. But neither have we encountered such a great opportunity.”

At the opening of the ceremony, President François Hollande told the assembled leaders and delegates that the hope of all humanity rests on the delegates’ shoulders.

 “Our greatest challenge is to go from a globalisation based on competition to a model based on cooperative, where it will be more profitable to protect rather than destroy,” he said.

Referring to the Paris attacks Hollande said he was not choosing between the fight against terrorism and the fight against global warming.

“These are two major challenges we must overcome. We must leave our children more than a world free of terror, we owe them a planet protected from disasters, a viable liveable planet,” he said.

Opening the climate talks, earlier today, Prince Charles said that global warming is the greatest threat that humanity faces and he urged world leaders to act now.

“On an increasingly crowded planet, humanity faces many threats, but none is greater than climate change. It magnifies every hazard and tension of our existence,” he said.

He added that climate change threatens our ability to feed ourselves, to remain healthy, and safe from extreme weather, and to avert the humanitarian disaster of mass migration and increasing conflict.

He urged negotiators to end fossil fuel subsidies and spend the money on sustainable energy instead.

 “The whole of nature cries out at our mistreatment of her. If the planet were a patient, we would have treated her long ago. You, ladies and gentlemen, have the power to put her on life support, and you must surely start the emergency procedures without further procrastination.”

 “In damaging our climate we become the architects of our own destruction. While the planet can survive the scorching of the Earth and the rising of the waters, the human race cannot. The absurd thing is we exactly what needs to be done,” he said.