Obama, Xi meet during Paris climate summit

US President Barack Obama (L) speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting ahead of the opening of the UN conference on climate change on November 30, 2015. (AFP photo)

US President Barack Obama has discussed climate change and other issues with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a climate summit at Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris.

Nearly 200 countries are attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which opened on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on December 11.

The climate summit aims to reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions that cause global warming. The US and China are the largest producers of carbon emissions in the world.

In their meeting on Monday, Obama highlighted the work he and the Chinese leader have done on climate change and other issues.

“As the two largest economies in the world and the two largest carbon emitters, we have both determined that it is our responsibility to take action,” Obama said before meeting Xi.

“And so our leadership on this issue has been absolutely vital, and I appreciate President Xi’s consistent cooperation on this issue,” he added.

Obama has held several meetings with Chinese leaders in order to secure Beijing’s cooperation for an international agreement on climate change.

China has proposed new limits on its greenhouse gases, agreeing to peak its emissions by 2030 under an international climate deal, while the US has pledged to reduce 26 percent to 28 percent its greenhouse gases by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.

 “The United States and China also come here with a common vision for what’s needed in a Paris agreement, including moving toward a low-carbon global economy in this century, enhancing transparency to build trust and robust financial support to help developing countries adapt,” Obama said Monday.

“And here in Paris, we will be working together to try to deliver on that vision,” he stated.

In her opening remarks, UN climate chief Christina Figueres told world leaders that "never before has a responsibility so great been in the hands of so few. The world is looking to you."


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