France was officially appointed host country for the 21st climate conference (2015 Paris Climate Conference – COP21) during the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw (COP19).
COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will be one of the largest international conferences ever held in France. In this context, France is facing a two-fold challenge:
- as the host country, it will be responsible for hosting thousands of delegates and observers under the aegis of the United Nations, for two weeks, in the best possible conditions;
- as the country taking over the COP Presidency, it will need to act as a facilitator among all parties to the negotiations, in order to create an atmosphere of confidence, bring viewpoints together and ensure that an agreement is adopted unanimously.
This Conference is crucial because it must result in an international climate agreement enabling us to limit global warming to below 2°C.
It will be necessary to reach a certain number of decisions in December 2015, building on the work carried out at COP20 in Lima.
Firstly, an ambitious, binding agreement on climate change that applies to all countries.
Secondly, intended national determined contributions (iNDC) representing the investment that each country feels able to make. Climate finance will also be a crucial component; in this regard, a milestone has been reached with the initial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund, amounting to $9.3 billion, including nearly $1 billion from France. Lastly, local and regional initiatives developed by local governments, civil society organizations and businesses will boost mobilization and supplement the contributions made by states.
In order to organize this United Nations Conference in the best conditions, France has chosen to hold it in Paris, at the Paris-Le Bourget site, from 2015, November 30 to December 11 which is logistically the most suitable in terms of hosting facilities and accessibility for not only the official delegations but also civil society and the media, which are crucial to the success of the Conference.
Lastly, France has chosen to make this Conference exemplary in terms of environmental impact and will implement a programme of action to minimize the impact of the meeting in terms of consumption of natural resources (water, waste, energy) and greenhouse gas emissions.
