UN talks to implement the landmark Paris climate pact opened in Marrakesh on Monday, buoyed by gathering momentum but threatened by the spectre of climate change denier Donald Trump in the White House. Diplomats from 196 nations are meeting in Morocco to flesh out the planet-saving plan inked in the French capital last December.
"We have made possible what everyone said was impossible," said French environment minister Segolene Royal at the opening ceremony, in which she handed over stewardship of the climate forum to Moroccan foreign minister Salaheddine Mezouar. Royal announced that 100 countries have ratified the Paris Agreement, which entered into force last Friday, a record time for an international treaty. She urged other nations to follow suit by year's end.