New climate deal draft emerges as Paris talks near end

Paris: Terming as “game changer” the national climate action plans of every country, India strongly voiced its concern over exclusion of these plans in the new draft negotiating text unveiled by climate change negotiators and said developed countries did not fulfil their obligations, reports PTI.

“We are going backwards”, said Gurdial Singh Nijar of Malaysia, the head of a bloc of hardline countries that also includes India, China and Saudi Arabia.

Negotiators in Paris are locked in all-night meetings as they scramble to reach agreement on a deal to combat climate change.

Differentiation: whether developed nations should be asked to do a lot more than developing nations.

“We’re working on it”, Kerry said as he emerged from one meeting room with an entourage of security agents and State Department aides.

The draft text, released on Thursday night, also sets a target of “greenhouse gas emissions neutrality in the second half of the century” – more ambitious than previous drafts in shifting to cleaner energy sources.

He said the latest version of the text was “very clear” on the five-year cycle, which the “high ambition coalition” of countries, including the European Union, some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations and the USA, say is necessary to deliver an ambitious deal.

Fabius has insisted that an accord to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating global warming must be finished by tonight, rather than overrunning into the weekend as past United Nations meetings have done.

The 27-page draft text, comprises of all the key issues as options, will now be placed before the negotiators for night-long negotiation. However, AFP quoted an official as saying the final draft agreement has been pushed back to Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, who is chairing the talks, said countries must forget the ideal solution for everybody so that they could achieve what is “desirable for everyone”. Two-third of global carbon space has already been occupied dominantly and illegitimately by developed countries and hardly 1000 gigatonne space is available to aim for apossible 2°C scenario.

“I think there is a strategy to oblige States to finally expose themselves”, said Alix Mazounie, from RAC France, which represents climate action organisations.

One of them said that developed countries should “take the lead” in mobilising climate finance “as part of a shared effort” by all countries.

Small island nations demanded firmer rich country promises to help cope with future damage from rising seas and rougher storms. “They have to make a serious commitment”, LDC representative José Manuel Ramos-Horta by the sidelines of the Paris negotiations on Thursday.

The developing nations are demanding “loss and damage” provisions, which the United States is particularly wary of as it fears they could make U.S. companies vulnerable to legal challenges for compensation.

Mr Cameron said a comprehensive climate deal is good for both people and business.

Perhaps the biggest difference revolves around how to come up with the billions of dollars needed to help developing countries grow their economies without burning through vast reserves of fossil fuels.

The talks have previously been guided by a goal to limit warming to 2 degrees C, compared with preindustrial times. Some countries are calling for a more ambitious 1.5 degree Celsius goal, and others can’t agree on how to hold countries accountable without a legally binding deal.

The draft suggest that countries should take stock of efforts in 2019, and then follow up with a more formal stocktake in 2023 to guide countries in updating their pledges, and then every five years thereafter.