France – Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change

France and Ethiopia, representing Africa, launch an appeal to all Parties to the Convention on Climate Change to adopt an ambitious agreement limiting the increase of temperatures to 2°C above preindustrial levels, and ensuring that vulnerable countries will receive adequate financing to face the challenge.

Brazil and France reiterate their conviction that climate change is one of the most pressing challenges we face today and that it requires immediate global response guided by fairness and equity.

It might be true of Copenhagen or Vancouver, but “green” isn’t the first adjective that springs to mind when one thinks of Paris. That may soon change says French journalist Josette Sicsic. “The French always take a long time to be convinced of something. We have a rebellious nature. Then all of a sudden, there’s a collective intelligence. Ecological awareness has been a long time coming, but in less than two years, we’ve caught up; now we’re as mindful of the problem as the Scandinavians or Germans.”

billion euros. Nearly a third of AFD’s (French Development Agency) commitments – €1.1 in 2008 – are now linked to combating climate change.