PARIS, French Republic. Ministers from more than 190 countries have been working through the night in an effort to reach a historic deal on climate change.
Talks at the United Nations summit in Paris slipped past their Friday evening deadline as countries engaged in shuttle diplomacy in an effort to find common ground.
French and UN officials said early on Saturday that they had finished an edit of the final draft agreement to be presented to ministers at around 10.30am (11.30am local time), after almost two weeks of discussions – and nearly 16 hours after the summit was meant to close.
Barack Obama has called a number of world leaders in recent days, including Xi Jinping, president of China, which is under pressure as one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
It appears the final deal could see leaders agree to measures that would keep temperature increases to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Current plans limit the temperature rises to 2.7C.
The issue of “loss and damage” – recognising vulnerable countries need help to deal with climate change symptoms such as rising sea levels – is difficult when more developed countries don’t want to leave themselves open to liability or claims of compensation.
This sticking point saw tensions rise as India’s environment minister Prakash Javadekar accused the developed world of not showing flexibility towards poorer countries.
And Marshall Islands foreign minister Tony de Brum, the driving force behind the “high ambition coalition”, accused some countries of trying to “gut the text” of the strong agreement he and many EU countries are seeking.
The conference’s organisers are due to reveal a final draft of the agreement this morning but some believe the talks will last for many more hours.
Credit: Sky News
