Climate pledges in Paris, IMF’s renminbi boost and the differences between men and women

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT.

The Paris climate change talks opened with a flurry of pledges worth billions of dollars from dozens of heavily guarded world leaders on Monday. But it remains to be seen whether the two-week summit will result in a robust deal — the first global climate accord in 18 years. Here’s a beginner’s guide to the talks.

President Barack Obama used his address to tell representatives from nearly 200 nations that the US is at least partly to blame for the severe environmental damage brought on by climate change. Meanwhile, the Republicans jockeying to succeed him in the White House continue to deny human responsibility for climate change, while congressional GOPers work to scupper his plan to cut carbon emissions. (FT, NYT)

In the news

UK military action in Syria imminent David Cameron is expected to launch air strikes in Syria within days after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in effect guaranteed that the prime minister could secure a Commons majority for war. On Monday, Mr Corbyn backed down on his previous plan to order his divided Labour party to oppose extending RAF air strikes to Isis targets in Syria. (FT)

IMF’s renminbi boost The fund’s decision to give China’s currency greater weighting than the yen or pound in its elite basket of reserve currencies amounts to a major vote of confidence in Beijing’s reform efforts. The vote by the board to make the renminbi the fifth currency in the basket used to value the IMF’s own de facto currency, the “special drawing rights”, followed months of deliberation at the fund and years of lobbying by a Beijing eager for the recognition. (FT)

JPMorgan’s friends in high places The US financial services company hired friends and family members of executives at three-quarters of the major Chinese companies it took public in Hong Kong during a decade-long boom in Chinese IPOs, according to a document compiled by the bank as part of a federal bribery investigation. (WSJ)

Bribery at Big Tobacco British American Tobacco faces allegations of bribery after a whistleblower told the BBC that the company illegally paid politicians and civil servants in countries in east Africa. According to leaked documents, the company paid bribes to undermine antismoking legislation. (BBC)

Amazon’s drone ‘family’ Amazon has brought in TV celebrity Jeremy Clarkson to unveil its latest vision for its Prime Air drone delivery system. The company has not revealed when exactly it hopes the project will be flying to customers but the timeline will be dictated as much by legal considerations as by technology. (The Verge, FT)

It’s a big day for

UK lenders For the past month the Bank of England has been saying that ultra-low interest rates should be combined with measures to hold back the growth of consumer credit. On Tuesday it will reveal whether action will follow the warnings when it publishes its latest round of stress tests for UK banks along with its financial stability report. (FT)

Food for thought

Isis: the munitions trail The jihadist group has accrued an arsenal that is the envy of its peers — including US-made Abrams tanks, M16 rifles, MK-19 40mm grenade launchers (seized from the Iraqi army) and Russian M-46 130mm field guns (taken from Syrian forces). But arms dealers say despite this, there is one thing Isis still needs: ammunition. (FT)

The differences between men and women … aren’t so clear cut after all. There is no sharp division between male and female brains, according to researchers who found that we are all a mixture instead. (The Guardian)

The dangers of deriding the demagogues The very fact that Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen are running strongly for the American and French presidencies says something disturbing about the health of liberal democracy in the west, writes Gideon Rachman. “In confusing and scary times, voters seem tempted to turn to “strong” nationalistic leaders — western versions of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.” (FT)

Pirelli evolves The Italian tyremaker has ditched scantily clad supermodels in favour of luminaries of art, business, sport and philanthropy for its annual calendar. The only two partial nudes in the gallery? Comedian Amy Schumer and tennis champion Serena Williams, “who’ve each been targeted by body-shamers” and whose “gorgeous images do more to turn that shame around on their trolls”. (Slate)

Police probe Tube abuse Authorities in London have launched an investigation after passengers on the city’s Underground received abusive flyers from a group that “hates and resents fat people”. The organisation, which calls itself Overweight Haters Ltd, has been slammed by commuters as “hateful and cowardly”. (The Guardian)

Video of the day

Can ‘Super’ Mario push down euro? The European Central Bank is widely expected to announce further quantitative easing, but whether ECB president Mario Draghi can push the euro lower in the final weeks of this year to help prop up inflation is less clear. (FT)

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A general view of the Eiffel tower and La Defense business district skyline in the background. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen.