What they say

"The Paris conference is not the finishing line, but a new starting point, as an important part of global governance."

Xi Jinping, president of China

"Emerging countries must accelerate their energetic transition and developing countries must be helped and supported."

Francois Hollande, French president

"Leaders of the world, the future of the people and of our planet is in your hands. We need a universal, meaningful and robust agreement here in Paris."

Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations

"We are the first generation to feel climate change and the last that can do something about it. In the last seven years we have made an ambitious plan for clean energy. We have been invested in this sector. This is not an American trend alone."

Barack Obama, president of the United States

"Your deliberations will not only decide the fate of people today, but of generations unborn."

The Prince of Wales

(China Daily 12/01/2015 page3)