The climate change summit that began here Monday will be "historic for Peru and crucial for the world," Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal said.

The U.N. 20th Conference on Climate Change, or COP20, in which more than 10,300 delegates from 195 countries are taking part, was opened by the chair of the COP19, Poland's Marcin Korolec, who handed over that responsibility to the Peruvian.

"We want this COP to provide a solid foundation for the new global climate accord. We want all countries without exception to agree on the data presented in order to show our commitment to the reduction of emissions," Pulgar Vidal said upon declaring the conference officially in session.

The Lima summit should create a draft on reducing the effects of climate change that will serve as the basis of a pact to be formally adopted in 2015 at the COP21 in Paris.

Pulgar Vidal said the challenge of the COP20 will be "to take notice of all the good indications and messages" we are getting from the countries of the world in order to reach a consensus.

"Let's not lose this chance. Let us build certainty and agreements that increase the trust between us and public opinion. The world is waiting and does not want us to fail," he said.

Also participating in the inaugural ceremony were COP Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, Lima's Mayor Susana Villaran, and the chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri.

To keep global temperatures from rising by 2 degrees Centigrade, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by a minimum of 40 percent before the year 2050, and must be completely eliminated by the year 2100, Pachauri said.

Taken from La Prensa