PARIS, Nov 11 : Ministers and negotiators from more than 75 nations have made headway in talks ahead of a crunch UN climate summit but "the task ahead is considerable", France's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Laurent Fabius, who will preside over the November 30-December 11 conference in Paris, told journalists the three days of talks, which ended Tuesday, had been an important step and "progress has been made on at least five points".
But he warned "the task ahead is considerable".
UN climate chief Christiana Figueres added: "It continues to be entirely possible to come to an agreement... despite all the challenges in front of us."
Fabius announced that 117 heads of state and government -- including US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi of India and Russia's Vladimir Putin -- have confirmed they will attend the summit, tasked with inking a pact to stave off dangerous levels of global warming.
Meanwhile, The effects of climate change like extreme drought are creating tensions across the world, including in the Indus river basin, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said as he linked the complex issue with national security ahead of a major UN climate summit later this month.
Kerry said the prospect of a hotter,
drier climate throughout the Middle
East and parts of Asia will place more strain on the most precious resource of all - fresh water.     ?AFP, PTI