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     Protests Worldwide Call for Climate Controls as UN Summit Opens Monday

   by Ken Bredemeier

   Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined worldwide demonstrations
   Sunday calling for adoption of global environmental controls as world
   leaders headed to Paris for the opening Monday of the United Nations
   climate summit.

   Activists linked hands in the heart of the French capital amid tight
   security in the wake of the deadly Islamic State terrorist attacks
   earlier this month that killed 130 people.

   With French officials banning marches, the demonstrators, including
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, left about 20,000 pairs of shoes on
   the ground at the Place de la Republique. Demonstration organizers said
   the shoes weighed four tons and included a pair the Vatican sent on
   behalf of Pope Francis.

   ''

   More than 2,000 demonstrations occurred or were set for Sunday
   elsewhere, including in Perth, Australia; Berlin, London, Sao Paulo and
   New York.

   About 150 world leaders are expected at the start of the summit,
   including U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping,
   India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir
   Putin.

   Curb global warming

   The goal of the summit is to limit average global warming to two
   degrees Celsius, perhaps less, compared to pre-Industrial Revolution
   levels by curbing fossil fuel emissions that are blamed for climate
   change. Just this year, the U.N.'s weather agency says the average
   global temperature is set to rise by one degree Celsius, halfway to the
   limit the U.N. is seeking to impose.

   Modi said in his monthly radio address, "The earth's temperature
   shouldn't rise any further and this is everyone's concern and
   responsibility."

   ''

   But adoption of mandatory controls throughout the world is far from
   certain at the Paris summit. An attempt in Copenhagen in 2009 to craft
   a global deal foundered at an ill-tempered summit, with divisions
   between rich and poor countries.

   Challenges
   French President Francois Hollande has warned of obstacles for the
   195-nation summit in reaching a compulsory deal in Paris, including the
   legality of any accord, financing for poorer countries and monitoring
   of countries' pledges to limit greenhouse gas emission. So far this
   year, 183 nations have issued long-term plans to cope with climate
   change, but difficult negotiations are expected at the summit that runs
   through December 11.

   France says that about 2,800 police and soldiers are securing the Le
   Bourget conference site, and 6,300 others will deploy in Paris. French
   Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said nearly 1,000 people believed
   to to pose security risks have been denied entry into France.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/protests-worldwide-call-for-climate-control/3079420.html