
The climate change summit in Paris that aims to tackle global warming will itself pump an estimated 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it was claimed today.

Around 50,000 people including world leaders, businesses and activists are expected to travel from across the globe for the two-week conference in Paris which started today.

Most will arrive by plane from as far afield as New Zealand, Sydney and Bermuda, while others will arrive by train and car.

Standing shoulder to shoulder: The heads of 150 nations kick off 12 days of talks in search of an elusive pact to wean the world off fossil fuels. But according to estimates, the summit itself will produce around 300,000 tons of CO2 during the two-week conference

U.S. President Barack Obama boards Air Force One as he departs Joint Base Andrews in Washington for the start of the Paris Climate Change Conference. Fuel consumption from journeys like this are estimated to produce around 300,000 tons of CO2

White House staff board Air Force One before the arrival of President Barack Obama at Andrews Air Force Base

World leaders like Vladimir Putin (pictured, above, arriving at the summit today) will also be taken to the conference in private cars after flying in from all corners of the globe

According to calculations by Wired and Steven Stoft of climateParis.org, the average round trip per attendee will be around 9,000 miles.

Taking the fuel consumption of a Boeing 747 – around 16.5 miles per gallon – which the website describes as a 'happy medium between private jets and bullet trains', it is estimated around 27 million gallons of fuel will be used by travellers attending the conference.

This figure was arrived at by multiplying the number of attendees by the average round-trip mileage to get 450million miles then multiplying that by 16.5miles per gallon.

With each gallon of fuel producing around 21 pounds of carbon dioxide, the total released by planes flying to and from Paris is thought to be about 575million pounds (290,000 tons), according to rough calculations.

Taking the lead: Francois Hollande (centre during a family photograph) opened the biggest-ever climate change summit today by warning world leaders that 'the hope of all of humanity' rested on their shoulders as they sought to avert disastrous global warming

British Prime Minister David Cameron talks to French President Francois Hollande when posing with world leaders for a family photograph

Prince Charles addressed the opening session of the two-week UN conference, warning that humanity faces no greater threat than climate change in a rallying call for immediate action to tackle rising temperatures

Sharing a joke: British Prime Minster David Cameron, Prince Charles, Prince Albert II of Monaco and German Chancellor Angela Merkel chat during the family photo session at the start of the COP21 in Le Bourget, Paris

In his speech, Barack Obama painted a dire picture of the future without aggressive action to curb carbon emissions, describing submerged countries, abandoned cities and fields that won't grow

KEY POINTS OF THE CONFERENCE Who is attending the conference? World leaders and negotiators from the 195 countries that make up the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. What does the summit hope to achieve? Countries will attempt to hammer out a legally-binding deal to prevent temperatures rising by more than 2C above pre-industrial levels. Current plans would put the world on track for a potentially disastrous warming of anywhere from about 2.7C to 3.5C by 2100. What are the chances of success? So far this year, 183 of 195 nations have issued long-term plans for tackling climate change, meant as building blocks for the Paris accord. But issues may arise over how to make the deal legally binding and how it would be enforced as happened in Copenhagen six years ago when talks collapsed. What are the sticking points? They include climate finance to developing nations beyond an agreed goal of $100billion a year by 2020 or how to set a long-term goal to shift away from fossil fuels this century. Many poor nations insist rich countries bear the most responsibility for tackling the problem because they have burnt the most fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution on their way to prosperity. Advertisement

But given that some planes will very likely carry more than one attendee, this figure is likely to be at the very highest end.

The total still pales in comparison with the annual global output of 80 quadrillion pounds, meaning the Paris conference equates to around 22 seconds of the world's production.

In an opening speech at the summit, Prince Charles warned world leaders that 'we are becoming the architects of our own destruction' as he called for immediate action to halt global warming.

The heads of 151 nations have kicked off 12 days of talks in Paris in search of an elusive pact that would wean the world off fossil fuels, making it the largest gathering of global leaders in history.

The Prince of Wales urged them to 'think of your grandchildren, as I think of mine' as well as the billions of people without a voice and the youngest generation as they try to secure a new global deal.

He said: 'If the planet were a patient, we would have treated her long ago.

'You, ladies and gentlemen, have the power to put her on life support and you must surely start the emergency procedures without further procrastination.

'Humanity faces many threats but none is greater than climate change. In damaging our climate we are becoming the architects of our own destruction.

'We have the knowledge, the tools and the money (to solve the crisis).'

Over the next fortnight negotiators from 195 countries will attempt to hammer out a deal that will put the world on a path to prevent temperatures rising by more than 2C above pre-industrial levels and avoid dangerous climate change.

French President Francois Hollande later echoed his statement by telling leaders that 'the hope of all of humanity' rested on their shoulders.

In an opening speech at the conference centre in Paris, the French President said: 'Never have the stakes of an international meeting been so high because it concerns the future of the planet, the future of life. The hope of all of humanity rests on all of your shoulders.'

Barack Obama also painted a dire picture of the future without aggressive action to curb carbon emissions, describing submerged countries, abandoned cities and fields that won't grow.

In a speech, he said: 'As the leader of the world's largest economy and the second largest (greenhouse gas) emitter... the United States of America not only recognises our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.'

The U.S. President also called the climate talks an 'act of defiance' by the world community following the Islamic State-linked attacks two weeks ago.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said an eventual global climate deal must include aid for poor countries and acknowledge differences between developing and established economies.

Right Royal welcome: Prince Charles gives French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy Segolene Royal a kiss on the hand upon his arrival for the opening of the UN conference on climate change COP21 at Le Bourget, on the outskirts of the French capital

Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate change Christiana Figueres (left) welcomes Prince Charles with French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius for the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference at Le Bourget, near Paris

Iranian Vice-President Masoumeh Ebtekar (left) and Costa Rican diplomat and Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres (right), are welcomed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon upon their arrival

French President Francois Hollande greets Mahamat Kamoun, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic as he arrives for the summit

Xi, speaking at U.N.-led climate talks near Paris on Monday, said an agreement should also include transfer of climate technology to developing countries.

He said a deal should accommodate national interests, adding: 'It's imperative to respect differences' among countries, especially developing ones.

'Addressing climate change should not deny the legitimate needs of developing countries to reduce poverty and improve living standards,' he said.

World leaders had earlier held a moment of silence in honor of people killed in recent attacks in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, Tunisia and Mali.