The United Nations climate change conference in Paris was on Friday extended by a day, as negotiators to reach a consensus on matters such as emission norms and funding, PTI reported. The final text of the agreement, which was supposed to be released on Friday, will now be released on Saturday morning, reported The Economic Times. Negotiators will discuss the text the same afternoon and try to agree on a global deal latest by the evening, the report said.
The additional day will allow negotiators to reach an understanding on subjects such as the differentiation between developed and developing nations and providing monetary help to countries worst affected by rising temperatures. “There is still work to do...Things are going in the right direction,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is chairing the summits, told local news channel BFM television.
On Thursday night, a shorter draft that incorporated several key issues raised by countries like India was unveiled after negotiations. While Fabius had said that they are expected to bring out a global agreement to curb greenhouse emissions before 2030 and beyond, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop had said that the text was "about 80% there".
In a final effort to conclude the talks, delegates split up into smaller groups to mend their differences and discuss key issues such as differentiation, ambition and finance. The new draft incorporates India's demand to recognise sustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production in dealing with the threats of climate change. India had long been demanding the insertion of the lifestyle issue in the agreement. However, various environmental groups maintain that what is contained in the draft "is not good enough".
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