Negotiations over two weeks involving nearly 150 nations and 25,000 delegates aim to limit global warming to 2°C.
World leaders are gathering in Paris for the UN climate conference known as COP21, aimed at forging a deal to limit global warming to 2C.
Heads of 147 state and government are in the French capital for the start of two weeks of intense negotiations.
Monday's agenda includes speeches by the leaders and environment ministers of a number of countries, including Germany, Iceland, Peru and Scotland.
A total of 25,000 official delegates hope to secure a legally binding accord for every country to cut carbon emissions.
The accord needs to come into effect from the year 2020, when current commitments from the Kyoto Protocol run out.
The talks hope to resolve the concerns of large developing countries, such as India, that say they are dependent on fossil fuels to spur economic growth, and richer countries, which are moving towards adopting cleaner energy sources but continue to be a big source of emissions.
Smaller and poorer countries that are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change are pressing for a deal that prioritises their safety.
French President Francois Hollande called on developed states to take ownership of the crisis and help countries threatened by changing weather patterns.
"My thoughts go out to those islands that may soon disappear...developed countries must take responsibility. They are the ones who for years emitted the most green house gases," Hollande said.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama expressed his optimism in a Facebook post that a deal could be reached.
"What we're trying to do in Paris is put in place a long-term framework for further emissions reductions ... targets set by each nation, but transparent enough to be verified by other nations," he said.
Source: Aljazeera
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