Ban Ki-moon calls Paris climate talks ‘most complicated and difficult’ ever

After revealing a new draft treaty that removed some main points of contention last night, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a final text would now be presented to almost 200 nations for review only on Saturday, not later on Friday as he had hoped just hours earlier.

He said India delegation had a good meeting with the United States officials and the two sides had seen a “convergence of ideas”, on broad terms adding that the final text of the agreement would depend on what the negotiators arrive at.

India stuck to its demand that developed countries like the USA should shoulder more of the cost that countries face in adapting to the effects of climate change.

Right before the press conference, Mr. Ban and Minister Fabius, who is also President of COP21, met to discuss the latest developments and to prepare for the adoption of the agreement, now expected tomorrow.

The latest news related to the United Nations climate conference outside Paris.

When asked about a shift to clean energy, he said it would take time because technology was still expensive in least developed countries.

“There are still a couple of very hard issues that we’re working on”, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, saying there had been progress in overnight talks.

Climate finance for poor countries and how to reflect the different responsibilities of developed and developing nations throughout the agreement are also topics of tense discussions.

The related principle of equity says poor countries are entitled to help – money or otherwise – because they are more vulnerable to climate change.

For instance, the treatment and climate responsibilities of developing countries compared to those of developed countries is still to to be agreed. “I will not present the text Friday evening, as I had thought, but Saturday morning”, he explained, according to the Guardian. Since 2002, the small nation has doubled its economic growth by exporting offshore gas and oil, which account for more than 90% of the country’s exports.

The goal is to keep global temperatures within 2 degrees of what they were in the pre-industrialization era.

He said that East Timor had to spend a lot on repairing damage caused by disasters related to climate change, especially to roads.

The current 27-page draft included a long-term goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. “What will you do with the problem on your own?” he told ministers from other countries during a closed-door negotiation on the second revised draft of the Paris agreement.

President Xi Jinping has already promised that carbon dioxide emissions from China’s rapidly developing economy will start falling from around 2030, and does not want to revisit the target.

Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Tony de Brum was satisfied that the 1.5 degree target was reflected in the draft.

The number of square brackets, indicating significant disagreement, had been reduced to around 50, a major improvement on Saturday when they ran to more than 900.