 "After Paris attacks, increased resolve for UN climate talks")
Still gripped by shock and grief, Paris will play host to a long-awaited UN climate conference under tragic circumstances that none could have foreseen.
But delegates to the two-week talks starting Monday insist they won't let the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital distract them from the task at hand: crafting a landmark deal to fight global warming.
If anything, some say, the bloodshed could make countries more determined to reach a deal to address a problem that's widely seen as a factor that contributes to conflict.
The French organisers say more than 140 leaders including presidents Barack Obama of the US, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China have confirmed they're attending the start of the conference.
The stepped-up security measures in Paris, a state of emergency throughout France has been extended for three months, mean that shuttling them around the city will be a major logistics challenge.
Citing security concerns, French authorities have stopped several events that were scheduled to take place outside the conference centre, including a big march that environmentalists had planned for Sunday.
The negotiations themselves, however, are set to go ahead as planned amid tight security in the hermetically sealed conference centre in Le Bourget, just north of Paris.
Seyni Nafo, the spokesman for the African Group of countries in the climate talks, said "the main variable" is whether French President Francois Hollande can find the time and energy to devote himself fully to the climate talks, given his focus on terrorism and security.
"Other than this I suspect the talks will remain mostly on course," Nafo said.
A top French official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the issue publicly, said Hollande "remains totally committed to this event and we are now conciliating it with an extraordinarily busy schedule."
Hollande notably maintained all his climate-related appointments last week, including a meeting with some African leaders on Tuesday and a speech to French farmers on Thursday.
This week, he was due to attend several climate-related events despite trips to Washington and Moscow: a France-Oceania summit yesterday, a meeting with non-governmental groups following the climate negotiations on Saturday, and meetings with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Xi on Sunday.
But delegates to the two-week talks starting Monday insist they won't let the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital distract them from the task at hand: crafting a landmark deal to fight global warming.
If anything, some say, the bloodshed could make countries more determined to reach a deal to address a problem that's widely seen as a factor that contributes to conflict.
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"There may be even more awareness of how important it is to address climate change, given the impact of climate change on the stability of countries," said Dutch climate envoy Michel Rentenaar.
The French organisers say more than 140 leaders including presidents Barack Obama of the US, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China have confirmed they're attending the start of the conference.
The stepped-up security measures in Paris, a state of emergency throughout France has been extended for three months, mean that shuttling them around the city will be a major logistics challenge.
Citing security concerns, French authorities have stopped several events that were scheduled to take place outside the conference centre, including a big march that environmentalists had planned for Sunday.
The negotiations themselves, however, are set to go ahead as planned amid tight security in the hermetically sealed conference centre in Le Bourget, just north of Paris.
Seyni Nafo, the spokesman for the African Group of countries in the climate talks, said "the main variable" is whether French President Francois Hollande can find the time and energy to devote himself fully to the climate talks, given his focus on terrorism and security.
"Other than this I suspect the talks will remain mostly on course," Nafo said.
A top French official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the issue publicly, said Hollande "remains totally committed to this event and we are now conciliating it with an extraordinarily busy schedule."
Hollande notably maintained all his climate-related appointments last week, including a meeting with some African leaders on Tuesday and a speech to French farmers on Thursday.
This week, he was due to attend several climate-related events despite trips to Washington and Moscow: a France-Oceania summit yesterday, a meeting with non-governmental groups following the climate negotiations on Saturday, and meetings with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Xi on Sunday.