– Hottest on record –
But the UN this week issued a fresh warning that pledges submitted to date set the stage for warming of closer to 3 C, or more.
Last month, scientists said the first nine months of 2015 had been the hottest on record worldwide.
Ministers will base their discussions in the coming days on a rough draft of a deal compiled by rank-and-file diplomats over years of tough negotiations in the UN climate forum.
They cannot alter the text – merely identify areas for potential political compromise to be fed back into it.
For now, the blueprint remains little more than a laundry list of often directly-opposing national options for dealing with the challenge at hand.
Developing countries insist rich ones should lead the way in slashing emissions as they have polluted for longer.
They also want assurances of finance to make the shift from cheap and abundant fossil fuel to greener energy sources, and to shore up defences against climate change-induced superstorms, drought, flood and sea-level rise.
But industrialised countries point the finger at emerging giants such as China and India spewing carbon dioxide as they burn coal to power expanding populations and economies.
These crux issues must ultimately be settled at the political level.
Ministers of all the negotiating blocs gathered in Paris on Sunday, including top envoys from major carbon emitters China, the United States, the European Union, India, Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
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