Hollande encouraged by COP21 climate pledges

French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that he was encouraged by pledges made by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly to reach a climate change deal in Paris in December.

Hollande co-chaired a meeting on climate change on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and said that progress has been made towards a strong agreement in the last few months, but a "great deal of work" remains to be done.

Hollande said: "If I look at the intentions, they are there. The statements, they are there, but from this awakening and the desire to seal a deal in Paris and the conditions to ensure it is credible... there is still a lot of work."

The United Nations has said that talks are on track for the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that runs from November 30 to December 11.

Hollande added: "I haven't met one head of state who has said he was against an agreement so I could assume that we are sure of succeeding… Everyone is convinced that there will be an agreement in Paris, but what accord and with what type of ambition? In Paris, it is not about signing just a text, but a text that commits us for decades, that concerns all countries with a legal weighting and that every five years we can evaluate what has been done."

Hollande said that heads have confirmed that they will arrive in the French capital for the climate talks on the first day to ensure that "we are capable of signing an agreement at the end of the conference."

So far, about 80 states have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to the UNFCCC covering approximately 75 per cent of global GHG emissions.