Climate draft calls for balancing emissions by 2nd half of century

The world will aim for climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions to peak “as soon as possible”, with “rapid reductions” thereafter.

Delegates are studying the accord, which may be adopted later Saturday.

If Canada’s fossil fuel industry, particularly companies in the oil sands, thought the Alberta government’s ambitious new climate plan would convince environmental groups to ease up on their criticism, climate activists here say the opposite should be assumed.

But scientists say that, even if the pledges were fully honoured, Earth would be on track for warming of at least 2.7C.

Despite being formally submitted, the proposed agreement was not available immediately after Fabius’s speech.

It also said “other parties are encouraged to provide or continue to provide such support voluntarily”.

In central Paris, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators gathered near the Eiffel Tower, some chanting “Climate justice now” while others sang and danced in apparent celebration.

Thomas Coutrot of advocacy group Attac said the accord is an optical illusion that “masks” a lack of serious policy changes like abandoning oil altogether. He called for declaring “a state of climate emergency”.

Negotiators from around the world appear to be closing in on a landmark accord to slow global warming, with a possible final draft to be presented Saturday for a last round of debate at talks outside Paris.

The final draft text to be delivered to the national negotiators was not yet ready for distribution by midday in Paris, when Hollande first spoke to the jammed plenary session at Le Bourget conference centre near Paris.

Organizers hope countries will adopt the proposal but there could be some nations that don’t go along.

“We’re all exhausted and we’ve become much less diplomatic”, said Espen Ronneberg, a finance negotiator for the Pacific island nation of Samoa.

We also seem to have a form of ratcheting, in which nations would need to review and revise their promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions every few years.

“It’s a victory for all of the planet and for future generations”, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, adding that the pact will “prevent the worst most devastating consequences of climate change from ever happening”.

“Canada has advocated for this recognition of the urgency of the threat to small-island states, like the Marshall Islands, with whom we now stand as part of the High Ambition Coalition”, said McKenna, referring to a coalition of more than 100 developing and developed countries, including the USA, cooperating as a block toward common climate goals.

But UN officials said privately they did not foresee the Saudis pushing so far as to block an agreement. “We’ll have to huddle and see if something can be worked out”.

“We’re working on it”, Kerry said as he emerged from one meeting room with an entourage of security agents and State Department aides. It will be up to the COP21 president to decide whether there’s an agreement.

The Paris talks come after four years of fraught negotiations with rich countries pushing for things that most of the poor nations have been pushing against.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a “final” draft of the agreement would be translated and distributed Saturday afternoon.

But Hollande, the COP21 chair Laurent Fabius, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon revealed major details about the final text, now online. “The whole world is watching”, said Ban.

The talks, originally scheduled to end Friday, dragged into an extra day as the French hosts said they needed more time to overcome disputes. We have to do as science dictates.

“We need heating. We need air conditioners”.

Developing nations had insisted rich countries must shoulder the lion’s share of responsibility for tackling climate change as they emitted most of the greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution.

The final agreement could include references to making efforts to keep temperature rises to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels – a key ask of the most vulnerable countries who fear greater warming could threaten their very survival – as many countries were thought to be “comfortable” with the idea.

Mechanism for addressing the “loss and damage” caused by climate change was also included for the countries vulnerable to climate change effects.