Commonwealth countries unify voices ahead of Paris climate talks

PARIS - China, an important player in fighting climate change, has shown its commitment and set a good example in addressing this global challenge, adding positive signs that a new climate agreement will be reached in Paris over the next two weeks, said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Saturday.

Fabius, who will start to chair a United Nations climate conference on Monday, told reporters that he saw proofs of China's commitment in his 11 visits to the country in past years.

"China is a country which has shown its commitment that is perfectly clear in resisting and fighting climate change. They have talked about a new green civilization, an ecological civilization," he said at Le Bourget conference center on the northern outskirts of Paris.

China currently is the largest renewable market in the world. It pledged to peak its carbon emissions around 2030 and planned to build a national carbon trading system by 2017.

Fabius said there were positive signs, including China's example, for reaching a legally-binding global climate agreement in Paris, despite the fact that various divergences ranging from finance to revision provisions remained among countries.

He hoped countries would accept proposals that France and China offered in a joint statement issued earlier this month when the two countries emphasized that the Paris agreement must send out a clear signal for the world to transition to green and low-carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable development, agreed that the agreement shall include provisions for Parties to regularly update their climate plans and supported taking stock every five years and in a comprehensive manner of overall progress made towards reaching the agreed long-term goals.

A group working on text of the Paris agreement will start negotiating on Sunday afternoon, a day before about 150 world leaders arriving in Paris to inject political momentum to the negotiations.

Fabius said he hoped to see a draft text "as complete as possible" at next Saturday noon so that ministers could spend the second week mainly on "major political issues".

"We have to reach a compromise," he said, "On Dec. 11, I would like to be able to say six simple words: the Paris accord has been approved."