29 August 2014: French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius outlined his country’s expectations for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC and 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 11), which will be held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 11 December 2015, focusing on the adoption of a legally-binding agreement, subsequent pledges by all countries, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and carbon pricing.

Fabius made this statement at the Annual French Ambassadors Conference in Paris, France, on 28 August 2014, which was attended by Mary Robinson, UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Ségolène Royal, French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy.

Emphasizing the role and responsibility of France in the climate negotiations at the European as well as international levels, Royal stressed the importance of the energy transition law to be debated by the French Parliament in October 2014.

In his foreign policy speech, French President François Hollande indicated his intention to announce his country’s strategy for action ahead of the Paris Climate Conference at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in New York, US, to be held on 23 September 2014. He further stated that France will participate in the GCF before the end of 2014, and, supporting the World Bank’s initiative on carbon pricing, emphasized that “pollution must have a cost if we want to point investments towards clean and efficient energy.” [UNFCCC Press Release] [Fabius’s Speech] [Royal’s Speech] [Hollande’s Speech]