Paris climate conference – President Ader sees grounds for optimism

Budapest, November 22 (MTI) – There are several reasons for optimism concerning the United Nations Paris climate summit, Hungarian President Janos Ader told public radio on Sunday.

Both Barack Obama, the American president, and the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, have declared climate change to be the most important national security challenge, and these two countries are the biggest polluters, Ader told Kossuth Radio. Last October, both signed an agreement on rolling back harmful effects on the climate, he noted.

Other reasons for optimism are that companies, primarily those in the oil sector, that had shot down an agreement in a previous summit in Copenhagen have now signed up to the goals outlined for the Paris summit, he said, adding that attitudes had changed markedly.

Furthermore, far more participants are on board compared with the Kyoto conference, and now 156 countries are undertaking measures to cut back environmentally harmful emissions.

Speaking about his experiences of a climate change campaign, Ader said that people know exactly what is at stake and how such changes affect their own lives as well as those of their descendants.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters