President Buhari being welcome by French President François Hollande at the Opening of UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, France on Nov. 30. Photo: Sunday Aghaeze

French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived on Monday to greet 150 world leaders, including Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari,  at the launch of a heavily guarded climate summit in Paris.

The summit kicks off 12 days of talks among  195 nations, aimed at forging the first truly global accord to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases and avert the most calamitous consequences of climate change.

Hollande called for a climate agreement at the opening of a global summit in Paris saying, “never have the stakes of an international meeting been so high.”

He said that the agreement should include a commitment to cap temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius and 1.5 degrees if possible while calling for a 5-year review and revisions based on scientific development.

Hollande also warned against isolating any country to face climate change alone.

Speaking after a moment of silence held by the more than 150 heads of state for the victims of terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov.13, Hollande said, “ I am not choosing between the fight against terrorism and the fight against global warming.”

He added that a changing climate would prompt even more conflict over resources “essentially what is at stake at this climate conference is peace”.