French President Francois Hollande today said that man is his own worst enemy, when it comes to both terrorism and the environment.

Speaking during a short visit to the CHOGM summit, President Hollande said he was moved by the friendship and solidarity shown by Commonwealth nations.

He expressed his hope that the House of Commons will support David Cameron’s request to join the French military campaign in Syria.

On Monday’s climate change conference in Paris, President Hollande said it is the duty of mankind to reach a binding agreement for tackling climate change.

He said the Commonwealth summit has served as good preparation for the conference, and thanked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for inviting him.

“Notwithstanding the seriousness of events which impacted my country, I very much wanted to attend this meeting. “

“We are mobilising ourselves in favour of the environment for the planet. My hope is that there is a lot of awareness will be raised with the presence of 150 heads of states and government in Paris,” President Hollande said, while expressing his fear that a deal may be blocked by a small group of countries.

UN secretary general Ban ki-Moon said leaders have a moral responsibility to shape tomorrow’s future on the climate change issue.   

“It may be premature to judge what will happen, all the stars seem to be aligning in one direction. There is a strong commitment not only from government but civil society too...

“Want to make a better world, we will not be deterred by the terrible terrorist attack, we are going to make it happen.”

“The Commonwealth is unique in its diversity. There are many regional organisations but they are all more or less focussed on regional members. CHOGM covers one-third of the global population.

“It covers most importantly the tiniest countries to the most powerful. CHOGM represents all the views of the UN, it is a microcosm of the international community.”

Outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced that both Canada and Australia have pledged substantial amounts for combating climate change.

He said financing will be made available to small states for the purpose of fighting climate change.

Photos Michael Camilleri