French president warns UN climate talks could fail, urges deal on helping poor countries cope

PARIS – France's president says that major U.N. climate talks in Paris could fail to produce a global deal in December, and is urging faster action.

Francois Hollande pushed Monday for agreement ahead of the talks on how to pay for adapting to and reducing global warming. He warned that poorer countries will not agree to a global accord if there is no commitment from richer countries to help with financing.

Hollande is pushing his counterparts around the world to make strong, lasting plans to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet, but said "a risk of failure exists."

If there is no deal, he added, that could worsen the world's migrant crises, saying there could be millions of refugees fleeing rising seas, droughts and other climate emergencies.