COP21 Opening Day Showcased World Leaders and Now Negotiations Begin

Summary: COP21 opening day showcased world leaders at Paris's Le Bourget Centre and now negotiations begin with the aim of effectively tackling global warming.

Paris, La Ville Lumière (The City of Light), site of critical climate change conference, COP 21 ~ bright city of Paris, France on April 7, 2013, as viewed from the International Space Station: ISS Expedition 35, Public Domain, via NASA

While the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 opening day showcased world leaders on Monday, Nov. 30, at Le Bourget Centre near Paris, the conference’s agenda from Dec. 1 to 12 is expected to craft firm agreements for effectively tackling global warming.

COP21 opening day showcased world leaders with a lineup of presidents, prime ministers and royalty delivering emphatic messages from the speaker’s podium.

Amidst the speeches, an invigorating tone was set with the same-day, onsite launching of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. The 28-member coalition has the mission of spurring a new economic evolution through investment in clean energy development across an array of sectors, including agriculture, electricity generation and storage, and transportation. The group primarily comprises an elite who’s who of such private sector global billionaire giants as Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries Limited/India), Jeff Bezos (Amazon/United States), Richard Branson (Virgin Group/United Kingdom), Bill Gates (Microsoft/United States), Jack Ma (Alibaba Group/China), Ratan Tata (Tata and Sons/India) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).

The launching of Breakthrough Energy Coalition occurred in conjunction with the announcement of Mission Innovation, a multi-governmental initiative of 20 countries committed to accelerating the clean energy revolution by doubling funding of clean energy research and development over five years. Mission Innovation aims for widely affordable clean energy.

The initiative’s 20 participating countries account for 75 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions as well as for more than 80 percent of global clean energy research and development investment. Partner countries comprise: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

The two initiatives are designed to complement each other, with private sector funding by Breakthrough Energy Coalition and public sector funding by Mission Innovation.

A third multi-governmental clean energy venture announced at COP21 opening day involves France and India in a global solar partnership of more than 120 countries located between the Tropic of Cancer, or Northern Tropic, and the Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern Tropic. The International Solar Alliance expects to mobilize $1 trillion for investment in solar power by 2030.

French President François Hollande, whose country is hosting the momentous climate change conference, shared with reporters that “It’s set off well but it has to arrive too.”

The energy of COP21 opening day shifted to practicalities of garnering realistic commitments and crafting effective agreements as the negotiations began on the conference’s second day, Dec. 1, and will continue for 12 more days until Dec. 12. Will COP21 yield doable strategies for capping 21st century global temperature increases at no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial global mean temperature?

Yvo de Boer formerly served from 2006 to 2010 as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP). Now Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a treaty-based international organization based in Seoul, South Korea, the climate change policy veteran noted the extraordinary challenge which overshadows the conference: “The elephant in the room is still finance.”

(left to right) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Bill Gates; Ségolène Royal, head of COP21 French delegation; and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto: Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau via Twitter Nov. 30, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Paris, France: ISS Expedition 35, Public Domain, via NASA @ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/gallery/iss035e017335.html

(left to right) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Bill Gates; Ségolène Royal, head of COP21 French delegation; and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto: Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau via Twitter Nov. 30, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/671381663251853313

For further information:

"Introducing the Breakthrough Energy Coalition." Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
Available @ http://www.breakthroughenergycoalition.com/en/index.html

Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau. "Great to meet with @BillGates at #COP21 for the launch of Mission Innovation." Twitter. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/671381663251853313

Lewis, Barbara, and Bate Felix. "After leaders' rhetoric, climate negotiators start work on deal." Reuters. United States edition. Dec. 1, 2015.
Available @ http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/01/us-climatechange-summit-idUSKBN0TI0TI20151201#bgBtliaCm4d8aWUo.97

Milman, Oliver. "Zuckerberg, Gates and other tech titans form clean energy investment coalition." The Guardian > Environment > Energy. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/30/bill-gates-breakthrough-energy-coalition-mark-zuckerberg-facebook-microsoft-amazon

"Mission Innovation: Accelerating the Clean Energy Revolution." Mission Innovation.
Available @ http://mission-innovation.net/

Prime Minister's Office. "Prime Minister Announces Action on Clean Jobs and Energy." Market Wired > Press Release. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/prime-minister-announces-action-on-clean-jobs-and-energy-2077754.htm

Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly. "From space we are privileged to see the beauty of Earth but also our impact on it's environment. #COP21 #YearInSpace." Twitter. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/671315948071231488

ValaAfshar @ValaAfshar. "A sculpture in Berlin by Issac Cordal called 'Politicians Discussing Global Warming' #COP21." Twitter. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/671463029087801344