French president warns UN climate talks could fail

French Foreign Affairs Minister and COP 21 President Laurent Fabius, center left, and Minister of the Environment of Peru and COP20 President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, center right, deliver a speech as they open the first series of informal ministerial consultations to prepare for COP 21, in Paris, France, Sunday Sept. 6, 2015. The Paris UN climate conference in December 2015 will deliver a new universal climate change agreement. AP

PARIS — France’s president says that major UN climate talks in Paris could fail to produce a global deal in December, and is urging faster action.

Francois Hollande pushed Monday for agreement ahead of the talks on how to pay for adapting to and reducing global warming. He warned that poorer countries will not agree to a global accord if there is no commitment from richer countries to help with financing.

READ: Contours of landmark UN climate pact starting to take shape

Hollande is pushing his counterparts around the world to make strong, lasting plans to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet, but said “a risk of failure exists.”

If there is no deal, he added, that could worsen the world’s migrant crises, saying there could be millions of refugees fleeing rising seas, droughts and other climate emergencies.

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