French, Philippine leaders appeal for climate action

French President Francois Hollande and Philippine leader Benigno Aquino appealed Thursday for urgent global action on climate change, seeking to build momentum for a planned historic accord at a UN summit in Paris. On the first day of Hollande's visit to the Philippines, the leaders offered a show of unity they said could serve as a model for rich and poor nations who have long been divided over how to tackle climate change. "We have a duty to act together and that's why I came here to the Philippines, to launch an appeal, to seal an alliance," Hollande told a business forum ahead of his joint appeal with Aquino. Hollande is due to host the United Nations' summit in December aiming to seal a global pact that would save the world from the catastrophic impacts of climate change. He came to the Philippines as part of his campaign to ensure success in Paris because the disaster-plagued Southeast Asian archipelago is seen as a frontline state in the fight against climate change. The Philippines is typically hit by 20 major storms a year and scientists say they are getting stronger and more unpredictable because of climate change. In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan smashed into the central Philippines with the strongest winds ever recorded on land, claiming more than 7,350 lives. Hollande will on Friday visit the small town of Guiuan in the eastern Philippines that was devastated when Haiyan hit with winds of up to 315 kilometres (195 miles) an hour. In their joint appeal on Thursday, Hollande and Aquino highlighted that people in the Philippines had "endured an unprecedented series of extreme weather events in the last few years". - Joint appeal - "We are reminded that while the developing countries have contributed least to climate change, they are the ones that suffer the most from climate change impacts," the appeal stated. The appeal, in the name of the two leaders but also including their delegations, said the outcome of the Paris summit would impact the lives of billions. "We call upon the international community to conclude a universal, equitable and ambitious climate deal," the appeal said. Hollande earlier said France's deepening relationship with the Philippines could be a model of co-operation between rich and poor nations, which have long been divided over who is responsible for fighting climate change. He announced that France had offered the Philippines 50 million euros ($56 million) to help prevent future weather-related disasters. Aquino praised France's leadership in the global warming fight, emphasising that its emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming were among the lowest of any developed nation. "We as a developing country welcome that countries like France has emerged as global partner," Aquino said. The goal of the planned Paris pact, which must enter into force by 2020, is to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels. Scientists warn that on current trends, Earth is on track for double that or more -- a recipe for catastrophic droughts, fiercer storms like Haiyan and other extreme weather events. - Hollywood glamour - However, most followers of the UN process are sceptical a pact can be secured that will be ambitious enough to achieve the two-degree goal because of the deep divisions between many rich and developing nations. Hollande, the first French head of state to visit the Philippines, brought a high-profile delegation with him for his two-day visit. His group included Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, who has been a long-time campaigner for environment group Greenpeace and read out part of the joint appeal in a ceremony at the presidential palace. Fellow French actress Melanie Laurent, as well as UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, were also with Hollande. The Aquino government warmly embraced Hollande's trip as an endorsement of the Philippines' maturing democracy. France was the first nation to recognise the revolutionary government of Corazon Aquino, the current president's mother, in 1986 when she led a "people power" uprising that overthrew the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. A number of trade agreements on "green" sectors, including in transport, renewable energy and water treatment, were signed by Filipino and French corporations during Hollande's visit.