Kerry joins Paris talks as UN warns of climate doom

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general called for a clean energy revolution to avoid a "climate catastrophe" as talks on a global warming pact entered their final week Monday with crunch issues on money and burden-sharing yet to be resolved.

Many Republicans question whether climate change is happening and oppose emissions limits out of concern that it would hurt U.S. industry and jobs.

Foreign and environment ministers joined the talks after lower-level negotiators who met last week delivered a draft agreement with multiple options left open.

The talks are focused on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, primarily by shifting from oil, coal and gas to cleaner sources of energy.

Fossil fuels still meet about 80 percent of the world's energy demand, though the share of renewable energy including hydro, solar and wind power is growing, particularly in electricity generation.

While smog is a different environmental problem, much of it is blamed on coal-fired power plants and vehicle emissions, which also are key sources of carbon emissions.

The unexpected dip could either be a temporary blip or true hope that the world is about to turn the corner on carbon pollution as climate talks continue in Paris, said the authors of a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.