Negotiators have reached a watered-down deal at U.N. talks in Peru that sets the stage for a global climate pact in Paris next year. The Lima agreement was adopted hours after a previous draft was rejected by developing countries who accused rich nations of shirking their responsibilities to fight global warming and pay for its impacts. Peru's environment minister presented a new, fourth draft just before midnight and said he hoped it would satisfy all parties, giving a sharply reduced body of remaining delegates an hour to review it.
"As a text it's not perfect, but it includes the positions of the parties," said the minister, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who was the conference chair and had spent all afternoon and evening meeting separately with delegations.
The main goal for the two-week session in Lima was relatively modest: Reach agreement on what information should go into the pledges that countries submit for a global climate pact expected to be adopted next year in Paris. But even that became complicated as several developing nations rebelled against a draft decision they said blurred the distinction between what rich and poor countries can be expected to do. The final draft apparently alleviated those concerns with language saying countries have "common but differentiated responsibilities" to deal with global warming.
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