France says Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the upcoming United Nations climate conference in Paris.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on November 8 that more than 100 heads of state will attend the November 30 opening of the UN summit aimed at producing a climate rescue pact, including "the president of the United States, the premier of China, the president of Russia."
The Kremlin has not yet confirmed Putin's attendance at the so-called COP 21 talks, which are tasked with forging a new international agreement to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
According to the World Resources Institute, a U.S. think tank, Russia ranks fifth in the world in greenhouse-gas emissions, after China, the United States, the European Union, and India.
Russia pledged in March a possible reduction of 25-30 percent in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Moscow, however, made the pledge conditional on the outcome of the Paris talks and on the promises of other "major emitters."
Organizers expect the Paris summit, slated to run to December 11, to draw at least 40,000 people, as well as tens of thousands of activists, including from environmental and human rights groups.
Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP
