'It will be too late for the world' if Paris climate talks fail: Hollande
Reaching a successful climate deal in Paris at the end of the year is the last chance to save the planet, French President Francois Hollande has told the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Hollande also pledged Monday that France would increase its financial commitment on climate from 3 billion euros to 5 billion euros by 2020.
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Without a decision at the UN-led conference in Paris, which starts at the end of November, “it will be too late for the world," Hollande said.
France hopes to lead to the conclusion of a universal and binding agreement to keep global warming below 2°C.
Hollande has warned before that the talks will fail unless nations make a much greater effort to reach an agreement, and has called for industrialised countries to pay the 100 billion euros needed annually to finance the transition to renewable energy in developing countries.
Representatives from 195 nations are expected to attend the Paris conference known as COP21, which runs from 30 November until 11 December. The participating countries have until 1 October to submit their national greenhouse gas emission commitments.
Hollande on Monday sounded a note of optimism after China and the United States signed a "joint vision" ahead of the Paris summit, and China committed to a domestic "cap and trade" carbon exchange.
"We have moved forward in recent months," he said. "Very strong declarations were made by those countries who are most responsible for global warming ... the United States and China, which undertook commitments towards changing the situation."
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