Paris climate talks to move forward despite attacks; Obama to attend

by Devin Henry - 11/14/15 12:37 PM ET

A major international climate conference in Paris will move forward later this month, and President Obama is still slated to attend, despite a series of attacks in the city Friday.

An administration official confirmed Saturday that Obama is still planning on going to Paris later this month to attend early sessions of the United Nations climate change conference.

{mosads}The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is claiming responsibility for the string of shootings and bombings on Friday that left at least 127 people in Paris dead. The attacks briefly raised questions about the status of the climate conference, but leaders said Saturday that they are committed to seeing the event go forward.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters the conference will still take place, though there will be new security measures to protect participants. Thousands of officials, delegates, journalists and protesters are expected to make the trip to Paris for the event.

The conference “will be held with enhanced security measures, but this is an absolutely indispensable action against climate change,” Fabius said, according to the Associated Press.

More than 100 world leaders have said they will attend the climate talks in Le Bourget, on the northeastern side of Paris, including Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping. A White House official told The Hill on Saturday that Obama is still planning to make the trip.

Obama has made confronting climate change a key component of his second-term agenda, and securing a deal at the climate talks is one of the most important aspects of that. Ahead of the conference, countries around the globe have submitted plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as a way to confront global warming.

The United States has pledged to cut its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. The White House announced this week that Obama would attend the first two days of the two-week conference on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

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