President Barack Obama’s opening words at the climate change conference Monday in Paris set the tone and direction of the two-week summit with world leaders. Foremost on the agenda for leaders of 196 nations scheduled to attend is the quest for a landmark deal to save the planet by reducing global warming.
“I come here personally as the leader of world’s biggest economy and second biggest emitter to say that America not only acknowledges its role in climate change but embraces doing something about it,” the president said. It was time for action, he continued. “One of the enemies we will be fighting at the conference is cynicism—the notion we can’t do anything about climate change.”
Before addressing the summit, Obama, upon arrival in Paris, visited the Bataclan, the theater where, on Nov. 13, terrorists killed 90 people. The president stood in silence, paying tribute to the fallen.
The summit, which is slated to end Dec. 11, is taking place under heightened security, given the recent attacks and the presence of so many prominent leaders and participants.
Even before the opening sessions there were disturbances in the street, with a large contingent of protesters being placed under arrest. Members of several political and environmental groups, restricted from marching, placed 11,000 pairs of shoes at the Place de la Republique and formed a human chain that stretched two miles.
Among the key dignitaries at the event were Xi Jinping, president of China, and Vladimir Putin, president of Russia. Like Obama, Jinping observed his country’s role as the major emitter of greenhouse gases and promised to combat it. Similarly, Putin said, “We have demonstrated that we can have economic development and take care of the environment at the same time.”
Other opening day speakers included U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres, who told the 150 world leaders already assembled there that “the world is looking to you” to reach an accord on curbing the emission of greenhouses gases plaguing the planet. “Never before has a responsibility so great been in the hands of so few,”said Figueres.
Sprigs of optimism were apparent everywhere, though any giant steps toward combatting climate change may only occur in the distant future.
