Negotiators from more than 190 countries are aiming to create something that’s never been done before — an agreement to reduce man-made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and help the poorest adapt to rising seas, fiercer weather and other impacts of global warming.
The previous emissions treaty, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, only included the rich countries.
Our Correspondent G. Ananthakrishnan reports:
The text of the Climate Agreement, however, is still open, and issues such as finance, loss and damage, and transparency are not yet wrapped up. The negotiators and Ministers will be spending another night in the French capital, which has low single digit temperatures, to come up with a consensus by Saturday, when Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says he can present the deal. > More...
Live updates (IST):
The historical > Paris climate pact was adopted , this puts world on green path.
Read: the > full text of the Paris Agreement.
4.58 p.m. : Larent Fabius says text is being translated and will be publicly available at 1.30. It is to be studied by the countries and they can meet at 3.45.
"I will be proud that this message will be launched from here, from Paris. Because it was attacked exactly about a month ago," said Mr. Hollande
GIANT banner, simple message: >#keepitintheground . 10,000+ in the streets for D12! >#climate>#climatejustice>#COP21>pic.twitter.com/QPOiyIgE6N
— Torrance Coste (@TorranceCoste) >December 12, 20154.55 p.m.: Mr. Hollande said "I know what Africa has contributed, what India is contributing. History is here. All the conditions have been met. We are on the home stretch. We must pull ourselves higher to meet the challenge." "The decisive agreement for the planet is here and now. 12th December 2015 can become a message of life."
4.52 p.m.: We will not be judged on our word, but on our actions - Hollande. French president says 196 delegations, after so many days of work, unprecedented, the world has been set in motion not just in this room but beyond it.
People as far as the eye can see in Paris. >#d12>#cop21>pic.twitter.com/k3qb5tq2Qp
— Maura Cowley (@MauraCowley) >December 12, 20154.50 p.m. : French President Hollande says this is the decisive moment, thanks the countries, leaders and negotiators. Mr. Hollande also said the text confirms the target of 2 degrees rise of temperature, and to do everything to reach 1.5 degrees.
4.45 p.m.: The text if accepted will help Pacific and Caribbean reduce sea level rise. African countries will get support for tech development, Latin America to preserve forests, and assist fossil fuel countries to have tech diversification of their energy - Laurent Fabius
4.44 p.m.: Laurent Fabius said "The text is powerful yet delicate, for each country to go back with head held high having achieved something important."
It is proposed, 5 year period for national contributions, to be updated.
4.40 p.m. : Differentiated, fair, dynamic, balanced text has been arrived at, said Mr. Hollande. It confirms key objective, of continuing temperature well below 2 degrees and to endeavour to limit that to 1.5 degrees, said Laurent Fabius.
4.25 p.m.: Mr. Hollande praises role of Peruvian Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal, drawing cheers. He gave the impetus to the conference in Paris. Peru conducted the last conference in Lima.
4.21 p.m.: President of the Conference, French Minister Laurent Fabius, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also at the dais
4.20 p.m. : France President Hollande arrives at the Committee of Paris meeting to loud cheers
4.15 p.m.: There is a queue of delegates and select journalists invited for this meeting, to pick up the text that countries hope will be accepted and influence world action on climate change
4.14 p.m.: US Secretary of State John Kerry is in the hall, he talks to EU Climate Commissioner Canete.
. >@JohnKerry and >@PrakashJavdekar are all smiles minutes before >#COP21 close. Good sign? >pic.twitter.com/8GQ7obaYWO
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) >December 12, 20154.02 p.m.: The Paris Committee meeting at the which the Climate Agreement will be presented will start shortly.
3.55 p.m.: Shortly before the text is released, the so-called High Ambition Coalition of about 100 countries including the United States, Norway, Mexico, Colombia have made a "final push," said EU Commissioner for Climate Action Miguel Arias Canete.
2.55 p.m.: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said: "All conditions are there to achieve a universal and ambitious agreement. Of course everyone will not get 100 % of his requirements. When there are 196 Parties on an issue that complex, if everyone demands 100%, then in the end everyone gets 0 %."
1.50 p.m.: Several environmental and human rights groups are planning protests around Paris on Saturday to call attention to populations threatened by man-made global warming and urge an end to human use of oil, gas and coal.
The protests are timed to coincide with the end of two weeks of climate talks outside Paris. Organizers are hoping to reach a final international accord sometime Saturday.
12:44 pm: Key issues which India has raised — like “sustainable lifestyle”, principles based on equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities as mentioned in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) — is expected to find a place in the draft.
12:30 pm: Hollande will join the Paris climate talks
French President Francois Hollande will join the Paris climate talks as delegates debate what organisers hope is the final draft of an unprecedented agreement among all countries to fight global warming together.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has been leading plenary meetings at the two weeks of U.N. climate talks. Mr. Hollande’s presence will give extra weight to Saturday’s session.
12:12 pm:
A French official says a new, possibly final draft has been completed and will be presented to world negotiators outside Paris within hours.
The official said the text is being translated into other languages before being presented at a special meeting at the Paris climate talks at 4:00 p.m.
The last draft accord, released Thursday night, did not resolve several key issues, including how rich and developing countries would share the burden in fighting global warming.
11:56 am: In a bid to achieve the goal to curb temperature rise, nations have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UNFCCC.
Pledges from 148 countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are insufficient to limit global warming to 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here is a look at the INDCs of some of the major emitters.
11:05 am: Final draft text of Paris Climate Agreement ready, expected at 4:00 pm.
10:52 am:
What is causing global warming
There is an established link between the rising levels of Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and rising global temperatures. Here are two graphs that show the correlation between the two:
The first graph show the increase in concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere between March 1958 and November 2015.
Data Source: Measured by Earth System Research Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.The second graph shows the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures.
Data source: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).10:30 am:
What is India's stance
>India is taking the line that developed countries are rigid , leaving little flexibility for alternative solutions. According to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, the success of the Paris conference now depends on the spirit of accommodation and flexibility of the West.
The Minister met Mr. John Kerry on Friday, their third meeting in Paris, to greet the U.S. Secretary of State on his birthday with a hurriedly bought 6-foot-tall bouquet. He also held talks with China and would be meeting French Minister Laurent Fabius, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others. “Developed countries should come forward. Their attitude on flexibility is now 50-50,” he said, expressing happiness that the draft released on Thursday night contained references to the role of lifestyle in combating climate change, a position the Modi government articulated.
9:50 am:
A French official says the final text of an international accord against global warming should be released a couple of hours later than hoped, though negotiators say they are getting close to a deal.
The official said early Saturday that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius aims to present a final draft at 11:30 a.m. (local). The original deadline had been Friday, then Fabius said he was aiming for 9 a.m. (1:30 p.m. IST) Saturday.
After the text is presented, delegations are expected to have a few hours to study it before it goes to an open plenary meeting for eventual adoption. The accord would be the first requiring all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say cause global warming.
4:40 am:
Negotiators working on a global climate pact in Paris say they are getting close to a deal.
“We are pretty much there,” Egyptian Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy, the chairman of a bloc of African countries, told Associated Press late Friday.
“There have been tremendous developments in the last hours. We are very close,” he said.
Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu was also upbeat.
“The signals that have come to me give me encouragement that we are going to have a very ... comprehensive and strong agreement in Paris,” Sopoaga told the AP.
A French official expressed confidence that it would be the final draft.
Liu Zhenmin, deputy chief of the Chinese delegation, was more cautious. When asked by AP whether the draft would be the final one, he said only if “it’s more or less acceptable.”
2:15 am:
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says “all conditions” are ripe to reach a “universal and ambitious” agreement to curb global warming in Paris. Mr. Fabius called on the Ministers of over 190 countries gathered in Paris to take on their “responsibilities” and move forward in a “spirit of compromise.”
12: 30 am:
China is standing firm at the Paris climate talks on its demand that rich countries should bear a greater burden than developing ones in reducing emissions and helping countries cope with global warming.
Liu Zhenmin, deputy chief of the Chinese delegation, told reporters Friday the issue is “at the core of our concern for the Paris agreement.” He said he wants different rules for different countries “clearly stipulated” in a deal that may be finalised Saturday.
The U.S. and European countries want to move away from this “differentiation” among economies, and want big emerging countries like China and India to pitch in more in a final climate deal.
