T

he UN'€™s COP21 climate talks kicked off on Monday, with President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo seeking political support for a drive to increase contributions to the reduction of carbon emissions from both developed and developing countries.

More than 140 world leaders were scheduled to meet during the leaders'€™ event on the first day of the climate talks at Le Bourget Exhibition Center in a northern Paris suburb. The talks are expected to produce the first global commitment to cutting emissions, replacing or extending the Kyoto Protocol.

Jokowi, along with fellow statespeople including Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, King Abdullah of Jordan and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, addressed the second session of the leaders'€™ event after a formal lunch.

In his speech, Jokowi said that the outcome from COP21 must reflect balance and fairness and be consistent with national priorities and abilities, calling for a binding and ambitious agreement that, while applicable in the long term, would not hinder the development of developing countries.

He called on all related parties, particularly developed countries, to contribute more in terms of mitigation and adaptation measures through mobilizing financial contributions, honoring commitments made in previous forums, transfer of technology and capacity-building.

'€œIt is imperative a deal is reached in Paris. I hope we all become part of a solution [...] making the world a better place to live for the next generations and one that ensures their welfare,'€ he said.

Indonesia'€™s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) has set a target of a 29 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Before delivering the speech, Jokowi also joined two major sideline events, namely a leaders'€™ meeting on forests as a key climate solution and a mission innovation launch.

At the forest event, Jokowi and his counterparts from, among others, Norway, Brazil and Colombia, committed to engage only in sustainable forestry practices.

Jokowi also held bilateral meetings with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Norway'€™s Solberg and Serbian President Tomislav Nicolic, among others.

On Tuesday, the President is expected to visit the Indonesian pavilion at the COP21, where '€œmore than 30 events, including seminars and exhibitions, showcase our country'€™s efforts to tackle climate change'€, according to Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

COP21 '€” also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference '€” will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change, with the aim of keeping global warming less than 2 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average temperatures by the end of the century.

One NGO present at COP21 is the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), whose activists, upon arrival at the Indonesian Pavilion, raised bitter complaints about vital messages of environmental preservation being drowned out by '€œgreen-washing'€ campaigns from palm oil companies.

Commenting on the prominent display at the pavilion of the palm oil industry'€™s sustainability campaign, Walhi said in a statement: '€œWe hope that the government will no longer give room for corporations to carry out their green-washing campaigns, especially firms that were involved in the burning [of peatland and forests] and are accused of having hot spots in their areas of operation.'€

COP21 is expected to attract 50,000 participants, including 25,000 delegates from governments, intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society.

The conference is taking place amid tight security in and around Paris, following deadly terror attacks there earlier this month.

To prevent any possible disruption to the conference, the French government has limited public demonstrations, beefed up security and placed two dozen environmental activists under house arrest.