The French President will host world and business leaders at a major environmental summit in Paris today and tomorrow, giving him chance to push his ‘Make our Planet Great Again’ agenda.

It comes two years to the day since the historic Paris Agreement was signed.

Mr Macron is hoping to market France as a global leader for climate change research and renewable energy technology after President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the landmark accord.

Mr Trump’s decision meant he did not receive an invite to the two-day summit, and the French leader is likely to use his absence as a chance to further establish himself on the world stage.

As part of his environmental agenda, Mr Macron’s government says it wants to put France “at the cornerstone in the global mobilisation of all energies to fight global warming”.

And to help achieve this, it has even set up a website to make it easier for American climate scientists to apply to live and work in France

Business magnates from around the world are attending the One Planet summit, and a key aim is to increase investment by private companies.

After years of ground work, the accord was signed in 2015 with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.

The deal stipulates each of the 197 signatories should review and attempt to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions every five years.

But in order to make it a reality, Mr Macron and other world leaders will also need to plug a £1.7bn ($2.3bn) funding gap left by the impending departure of the United States.

The cash had been earmarked to help developing countries lower their carbon emissions by financing energy projects.

But Mr Trump has been an outspoken critic of the deal, arguing “billions of dollars that ought to be invested right here in America will be sent to the very countries that have taken our factories and our jobs away from us”.

The US President has since signalled a desire to renegotiate the terms, though Mr Macron has ruled out any backtracking.

However the French leader has said the “door will always remain open” if the US decides to come back to the table. 

Today’s summit will also see the unveiling of a long-term environmental strategy devised by the European Commission.

The plans include some £7.9bn (€9bn) of investment for sustainable agriculture as well as renewable energy projects in Africa.

Ahead of the summit, Maroš Šefčovič, the Commission’s energy vice president told reporters: “We are presenting how we would like to put the financial sector at the service of the climate.”