Still 'lots of work' for climate deal

French President Francois Hollande said Sunday that more work was needed to seal a climate agreement at a high-stakes UN conference in Paris at the end of the year.

"The intentions are there and there are plenty of pledges, but there is still lots of work to do between this willingness and the conditions for a credible agreement," Hollande told reporters after convening a climate summit at the United Nations.

"I have only one message -- speed up," he said, calling both for more national plans on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as on providing financing to help the hard-hit poorest countries.

According to Hollande, 81 out of 190 countries have submitted their plans on curbing carbon emissions blamed for climate change, accounting for 75 percent of the world's total output.

"The entire world is convinced that there will be an agreement in Paris, but the question is, what kind of agreement," he said.

The UN-led conference aims to limit temperature rises to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, a threshold that scientists say will reduce the risks of the worst effects of climate change such as rising disasters.

Source: AFP