Tighter security for 2015 Climate Conference in Paris
Because the 2015 Climate Conference in Paris, scheduled on Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, is deemed absolutely essential to battle climate change, it would surely be held despite the Friday night Paris terrorist attack that killed 127 people.
To assure the expected 40,000 delegates, including 118 world leaders, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the COP 21 21st Conference of Parties to the Convention would have boosted security.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls adds in a TV address on Saturday that the summit would go ahead “because it’s an essential meeting for humanity.” He says the conference is a chance for world leaders to show they are in solidarity after the attacks, reports Reuters.
The summit is expected to come up with a global deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions that continue to go up. U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have confirmed they will be at the conference.
The New Zealand youth delegation also told IBT-Australia on Saturday that if the conference would push through, they would attend. They are among the 20,000 to 40,000 delegates anticipated to attend.
UN Climate Change Secretariat spokesman Nick Nuttall stresses, “Security at U.N. climate conferences is always tight but understandably it will be even tighter for Paris.”
The French government, which has closed borders and declared a state of emergency, is currently reviewing security measures. The climate talks would actually be held at Le Bourget Parc d’Espositions, which is about 10 miles outside the French capital city.
Under French law, the state of emergency is for a maximum of 12 days, after which President Francois Hollande would need to get parliament’s approval by Nov 25 to extend it. The last time a state of emergency was declared in France was the 2005 riots in Paris. Parliament then allowed President Jacques Chirac to extend it up to three months.
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