Washington: US President Barack Obama on Sunday veered from his focus on the terrorist attacks in Paris to bring up the huge international gathering beginning in the French capital on Monday to hammer out a global response to climate change.
Mr Obama was addressing a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande, who is visiting several countries to rally their support against the perpetrators of the Paris attack.
“What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be when the world stands as one and shows that we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children,” Mr Obama said of the climate conference.
The segue brought mockery, even castigation, from the political right, but it was a reminder of the importance Mr Obama places on climate change in shaping his legacy.
During his 2012 re-election campaign, he barely mentioned global warming, but the issue has become a hallmark of his second term. On Sunday night he arrives in Paris, hoping to make climate policy the signature environmental achievement of his, and perhaps any presidency.
