Obama Addresses COP21 Climate Conference1:14
U.S. President Barack Obama told delegates at the COP21 climate conference that "this is the moment we finally determine we would save our planet." in Paris on Monday.
French President Francois Hollande stands front and centre during the ‘family photo’ Picture: AP Photo/Jacky Naegelen, Pool.
AS 150 leaders met in Paris to open a landmark 14-day conference, a tense 30 minutes spent in the wings had the world talking.
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin held private talks at the sidelines of the Leaders Event at the COP21 climate conference, where Presidents, Prime Ministers and royalty from nearly every country in the world have gathered to push for an urgent deal to prevent the world warming by more than two degrees by 2100.
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And it was all going so well. Russian President Vladimir Putin had a 30-minute meeting with President Obama on the sidelines of the COP 21 conference in Paris. Picture: AFP/SPUTNIK / MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV.Source:AFP
While the side meeting was not an any agenda, a White House official said President Obama urged President Putin to back down in his war of words with Turkey after the country shot down a Russian plane last week. The pair also discussed a ceasefire in the Ukraine and resolution in Syria, where Obama warned Putin that Syrian President Assad would have to leave power as part of a transition in the country.
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It was a rare tense moment in an extraordinary day of solidarity from global leaders who expressed overwhelming support for a global agreement on climate change. During hours of official speeches they showed allegiance with Paris in the fight against terror and issued an unmistakeable warning to their delegates who will hammer out a deal over the next 14 days: Do not mess this up.
President Obama said the world had come to Paris to “show their resolve” in preventing global warming in an “act of defiance that proves nothing will deter us from the future we want for our children.”
“What greater rejection of those that would tear down our world than martialing our best efforts to save it?” he said.
The US leader also held a side-meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the world’s two largest emitters — responsible for around 45 per cent of emissions combined — reiterated their commitment to bringing that portion down.
“There is such a thing as being too late and when it comes to climate change that hour is almost upon us,” the President said, emphasising there are “hundreds of billions of dollars ready to deploy” when it comes to investing in renewable energies.
Side eye: Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the speeches. Picture: AP Photo/Michel Euler.Source:AP
President Putin used his speech to call climate change one of the “gravest challenges humanity is facing” and said Russia’s efforts to reduce emissions have slowed down global warming by “more than a year.”
“At the same time we have managed to double our GDP. Thus we have demonstrated that we could ensure economic development and take care of our environment at the same time.”
The event was also used by countries to announce billions of dollars in funding for renewable energy, clean technology and mitigating the effects of climate change around the world.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia would ratify the second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol and said $1 billion of the existing aid budget would go to building climate resilience and reducing emissions — something Greens climate spokesman Senator Larissa Waters called “fudging the figures”. However he failed to join 40 other nations in pledging an end to subsidies in the fossil fuels industry.
UN Secretary-general Ban Ki Moon said marches around the world mean leaders cannot afford to fail. Pictured, an indigenous man marches in Colombia. Picture: AFP PHOTO/GUILLERMO LEGARIASource:AFP
The backdrop of the terror attacks in Paris nearly three weeks ago led to emotional opening statements from leaders at the Le Bourget site on the outskirts of the city.
UN Secretary-general Ban Ki Moon held a minute’s silence in honour of the victims and said “political momentum like this may not come again.”
He also issued a direct line to delegates: “The future of our planet is in your hands. We cannot afford indecision, half measures or merely gradual approaches” using marches held around the world as a sign that global eyes are upon them.
French President Francois Hollande expressed gratitude for those that had showed solidarity with Paris and said it meant the world would not be disappointed.
“Climate change will bring conflict, just like clouds bring storms causing migration, resource shortages, famine, rural exodus and clashes for access to water,” he said.
“Essentially what is at stake with this climate conference is peace.”
A final verdict on the negotiations will be delivered on December 11 before the baton is handed to Morocco who will host next year’s event.
French President Francois Hollande stands front and centre during the ‘family photo’ Picture: AP Photo/Jacky Naegelen, Pool.Source:AP
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