Paris Climate Change Conference: Summit Begins Monday, Weekend Marches Planned Worldwide
French President François Hollande will host the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, a summit where leaders from 147 countries will meet with the goal of creating a treaty designed to reduce the impact of humans on the Earth’s atmosphere. Today, the French president attended a meeting of British Commonwealth of Nations leaders ahead of the Paris climate change summit, according to the CBC.
Also in attendance at the meeting of Commonwealth nations were Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who pledged $2.65 billion to climate change initiatives in developing countries over a five-year period.
Canada is ready to play its part in fighting climate change by investing $2.65 billion in global climate action: https://t.co/RICNIOTK3S.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 27, 2015
On the contrary, you are forever young. I was honoured to toast your lifetime of service tonight. https://t.co/xcXGiSj6OT
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 27, 2015
Cet après-midi, le président @fhollande est au Sommet du Commonwealth à Malte pour parler du Climat #CHOGM2015 pic.twitter.com/ZSwwsXBuHJ
— Élysée (@Elysee) November 27, 2015
“Man is the worst enemy of man. We can see it with terrorism,” French President Hollande was quoted in Malta, by Yahoo! News. “But we can say the same when it comes to climate. Human beings are destroying nature, damaging the environment. It is therefore for human beings to face up to their responsibilities for the good of future generations.”
Marches were held in Melbourne on Friday, and more are planned over the weekend in New York, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Manila, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Seoul, and Rio de Janeiro.
The official opening of the Paris conference will take place at 10 a.m. locally (4 a.m. in New York) on Monday, November 30, with François Hollande officially greeting the climate change delegations. The United Nations Conference on Climate Change reports that Laurent Fabius “will be elected as President of COP21 by the 196 Parties.”
The conference comprises the meetings of several different climate change bodies, including the 21st session of the Conference of Parties, the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, the 43rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation, the 43rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, and the 12th portion 2nd session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.
The leader of each delegation will make a speech on Monday. As a result of there being so many nations in attendance, two “plenary” rooms will host speeches simultaneously. The rooms are named “Seine” and “Loire.” Live webcasts of the speeches are scheduled, beginning at 12 p.m (6 a.m. ET).
The Paris Climate Change Conference is not open to the public. Only members of the press who have been appointed by their respective country’s delegations are permitted to attend, according to an FAQ provided by the United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change.
A lengthy schedule of events for the climate change summit has been provided by the United Nations. Each day from Monday, November 30, through Friday, December 11, is packed with climate change meetings and presentations by a wide range of speakers.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Microsoft Founder Bill Gates are expected to attend a 4 p.m. (10 a.m. ET) launch of a Mission Innovation (Clean Tech) initiative, where the U.S. government pledges to increase “research and development budgets” by 100 percent over the next five years.
At 5 p.m. (11 a.m. ET), French President François Hollande and Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, will launch the Solar Alliance, which the leaders co-chair.
At 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will host a carbon pricing panel noted to be held in the “presence of the American and Chinese Presidents in particular. This event will enable committed world leaders to encourage their peers to support carbon pricing on an international scale. It will be the first meeting on the subject among leaders at this level.”
A dinner to be attended by U.S. President Obama and French President Hollande is then scheduled.
[Feature Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
