France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, is at the helm of climate talks expected to culminate in Paris in December.
Credit: Fabrizio Bensch/ AP

On Day 1 of the newest round of the United Nations’ climate change negotiations, the French foreign minister warned delegates that any agreement to lower emissions would have to avoid needing approval from the United States Congress.

“We know the politics in the U.S.,” Laurent Fabius told African delegates, the AP reported. “Whether we like it or not, if it comes to the Congress, they will refuse.”

The United Nations is seeking to develop an agreement that will keep global warming to below the scientifically recognized two-degree limit to avoid cataclysmic climate change. Two weeks of negotiations began Monday, and the final agreement is scheduled for a December meeting in Paris.

The threat — almost guaranteed — of congressional refusal to ratify the United States’ participation in an international climate agreement might […]