The Paris Peace Forum, taking place this week, will launch a “call to action” regarding the melting ice caps and will delve into the regulation of artificial intelligence.
The program also includes a humanitarian conference on Gaza, although details of this “humanitarian conference” scheduled for Thursday morning have not been disclosed, and it is expected to receive significant media attention.
French President Emmanuel Macron, along with Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and several African leaders, will assess the progress of the “Paris Pact for People and the Planet” launched in June. This pact aims to provide substantial funding to combat poverty and climate change and is in preparation for COP28 scheduled for early December in Dubai.
The focus of the forum, according to an advisor, will be to demonstrate that despite geopolitical tensions, cooperation on major issues is still possible. Regardless of the crises occurring, the advisor emphasized that “the ice continues to melt.”
The “One Planet – Polar Summit” will be a highlight of this edition, concluding on Friday with President Macron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. An “Appeal of Paris on the Poles and Glaciers” will be launched to address the “collapse” of “all ice surfaces on a global scale.” This phenomenon is accelerating and will have “absolutely major impacts” in terms of coastal town submersion and access to clean water, as noted by the Elysée. States affected by glacier loss, such as Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, will participate, as will China and India. However, Russia will not participate due to the conflict in Ukraine, even though it is a major Arctic actor. The Elysée asserts that this will not be an obstacle to cooperation between other countries.
Another top priority for Emmanuel Macron is “Digital Public Order” to better regulate platforms and artificial intelligence. He will preside over the 5th Christchurch Call Summit, launched with New Zealand after the terrorist attack in Christchurch in March 2019, aiming to enhance efforts to “combat terrorist and violent extremist content online.” The leaders and representatives of these platforms are expected to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, as many disturbing images circulate on social media.
AMN | Reporters | Paris.