Former US president Bill Clinton, whose Clinton Foundation seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Tuesday an upcoming UN climate summit in France will be useful, though "no big agreement" is likely.

 

"I don't expect some big agreement. But I do think as a result of the meeting there will be more investment in energy efficiency and more investment in clean energy and that's a good point," he told reporters during a visit to Panama to inspect a rural project sponsored by the foundation.

 

"I honestly don't know what will happen," he said of the November 30-December 11 summit in Paris that will be attended by President Barack Obama and 116 other heads of state and government.

 

"I can't go this year. But I think that all these meetings are helpful because people who actually can make decisions encourage each other to do things that work," Clinton said.

 

The Conference of Parties (COP21) summit aims to lay the ground for a pact by 2020 on curbing greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change.

 

Clinton, whose wife Hillary is currently a frontrunner for US presidential elections next year, was in Panama to visit a wind-energy installation backed by the foundation.

 

The project is located near Penonome, in central Panama some 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of the capital. (AFP)

 

 

PHOTO: Former US president Bill Clinton (R) visits a farm in the Cocle province, near Penonome, 180 km from Panama City on November 10, 2015.

CREDIT: AFP Photo/Rodrigo Arangua.