Can Macron convince world leaders to commit to climate change?
Countries need to plug a £1.7bn funding gap left by the US
French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting world leaders at the One Planet Summit today - exactly two years after the historic Paris Agreement deal was signed and with some worrying statistics before him.
The original deal, a groundbreaking initiative to tackle climate change, was signed by 195 countries and by the European Union. Today, however, no major industrialised country is on course to meet the agreed commitment to keep global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels - and the US has, controversially, withdrawn from the accord.
According to Politico, today’s summit, in the French capital, offers Macron “the chance to stress the gulf” between the himself and Trump on climate change.
France is seeking to take the lead in climate talks “as the US steps back from UN-orchestrated efforts to prevent dangerous global warming”, the Financial Times adds.
Although President Trump is not attending, the US is sending an official delegation from its Paris embassy. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and California Governor Jerry Brown, were also expected to attend.
The meeting is likely to focus on the financial aspects of the deal, says the Daily Express. The 2015 agreement stipulates that each signatories should review and attempt to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions every five years, “but in order to make it a reality, Mr Macron and other world leaders will also need to plug a £1.7bn ($2.3bn) funding gap left by the impending departure of the United States”.