France Is Pledging 100% Security Within Climate Conference Walls
France is adding civil and military security forces to ensure the safety of delegations traveling to Paris for United Nations climate talks starting Nov. 30, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.
Conference participants, including about 140 heads of state, will be in a closed, protected area as they work toward an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Some public demonstrations planned to coincide with the COP21 talks were canceled on security concerns after coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 killed 130 people.
“The security of everything within the rooms of the conference we will guarantee 100 percent, because it will be under our control, but we can’t completely ensure the safety of the external part,” Fabius told reporters after meeting with Brazil President Dilma Rousseff in the South American nation’s capital.
The Sustainable Innovation Forum at the climate conference is scheduled to be held Dec. 7-8 at the Stade de France, the national stadium and one of the sites targeted in the terror attacks.
France will offer its intelligence services and security expertise to Brazil as Latin America’s biggest country prepares for the 2016 Olympics, Fabius said.
He also visited India and South Africa to finalize details of the climate agreement expected to be signed in Paris. Fabius said success at the conference is necessary to ensure that the planet remains “viable” for the human race.