French President Francois Hollande has opened the 21st United Nations climate conference in terror-scarred Paris by saying the changing global climate will drive conflict in the 21st century.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among the 151 national representatives at the two-week negotiations that aim to complete a binding framework for post-2020 emissions reductions.
Trudeau says he and Canada’s premiers are ready for the challenge ahead.
He says the first ministers have made serious commitments about taking action and have a lot of work to do in the 90 days leading up to their next meeting.
Trudeau adds there is a new sense of urgency around the world on the climate-change file — which he says bring tremendous opportunity for innovative, forward-thinking peoples and countries like Canada.
When he addressed the delegates, U-S President Barack Obama called the gathering “an act of defiance” to those who would tear down the world.
Trudeau said last week that he did not see a direct link between security and climate change.
He is continuing his frenetic networking on the sidelines of the climate conference, sitting down with the presidents of the European Union and European Commission, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the King of Jordan, among others.
During their bilateral, Netanyahu and Trudeau agreed that the Canadian leader would visit Israel soon.
