President to Head to France for Major Climate Conference

UNDATED (AP) — The critical global climate conference kicks off in Paris tomorrow and President Barack Obama is among world leaders arriving today as he tries to cement a legacy of environmental protection.

Negotiators from 196 countries are seeking an accord that reduces man-made emissions to limit rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather that is already threatening populations around the world.

Obama needs to reassure leaders that the U.S. can deliver on its own commitments, despite opposition from Congressional Republicans.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is meeting French President Francois Hollande on Sunday morning to discuss the talks.

The president will meet on the sidelines with the leaders of China and India.

The U.S. is the world’s second largest climate polluter — surpassed only by China. India is the world’s number three carbon polluter.

Security is extra high in the wake of the Paris attacks.