A UN summit aimed at securing legally-binding global commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions has only a fifty-fifty chance of success.
So says a climate chief at the environmental campaign group Greenpeace.
While a breakthrough at the talks is uncertain, Martin Kaiser, Greenpeace’s head of International Climate Politics, told Euronews that many nations are now finally taking the issue seriously.
“It is quite remarkable that over 180 countries now have developed national climate action plans.
And that has never happened before,” Kaiser said.
“So climate change has become a reality in many countries and the people and the citizens expect the governments to act on climate change. The reason why it is still too slow is that the fossil fuel industry is still preventing progressive policies at home.”
In some countries, moves toward cleaner energy such as wind or solar power are proving particularly difficult.
“It will be very important to listen to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi from India and the king of Saudi Arabia – whether they are ready for the transformation of the energy sector in their own countries,” Kaiser said.
“Because those countries are quite dependent on coal and oil and have to make a major shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable energies.”
“I am quite cautious whether this conference will really give the strong signal needed to the private sector to follow that route. I would say 50-50 that we will get a good outcome here in Paris.”
Amid concerns about a real commitment to change from all those taking part, the fear is that the Paris climate summit, starting on Monday, could end up being just a lot of hot air.
