Climate-saving blueprint released

The hosts of the 195-nation climate rescue talks released a crucial new blueprint on Wednesday, reporting important progress but some sticking points two days ahead of the deadline for a United Nations deal.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said the document revealed “emerging compromises” on the way to a historic agreement to rein in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet.

After a “long night” of talks, negotiators produced a 29-page draft for the pact, lopping 14 pages off an earlier version and removing three-quarters of the hundreds of points of disagreement, said Mr Fabius, who is presiding over the Paris conference.

“On several topics we are almost at the end of our efforts thanks to the commitment of the parties,” Mr Fabius told the conference.

“It is better,” he said, though there are “still too many” undecided sections.

The UN talks have been billed as the last chance to avert the worst consequences of global warming: deadly drought, floods and storms, and rising seas that will engulf islands and densely populated coastlines.

Ministers gathered in Paris on Monday with an ambitious end-of-week deadline imposed by France to resolve complex disputes that have blocked the path to a universal climate pact for more than 20 years.

Nations remain divided over how to finance the costly effort by developing countries to cope with the catastrophic impact of global warming and what target to set for planetary overheating.

Faultlines also remain on how to share the burden between rich and poor nations, as well as how to review and scale up efforts to slash greenhouse gases.

Decisions on the most divisive arguments are not expected to be reached until the final moments of the negotiations, being held in a sprawling conference venue at Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris.