Agreement reached at UN climate conference in Lima

World Today

After late-night wrangling, a climate change deal agreed at United Nations talks in the Peru’s capital Lima. The compromise set the stage for a global climate pact in Paris next year. CCTV America’s Dan Collyns reported from Lima.

After carefully re-worded to overcome objections, the text of a draft agreement for countries individual pledges to combat global warming was finally approved in the early hours of Sunday morning. This was the first step on the road to a global climate change deal in Paris next year.

However, the process proved difficult as poorer countries demanded financial aid from richer ones to combat climate change.

Finding compromise had been hard said the U.N.’s climate chief, Christiana Figueres. “We do know that we must address climate change. We know increasingly that we can address climate change. Through this COP and onto Paris, we cement the fact that we will address climate change,”  She said.

But observers said the spirit of compromise led to a deal with no teeth.

“We came in here on a wave of optimism. We had these announcements from the U.S. and China. We had lots of good announcements from countries in Latin America about renewable energy and protecting forests. Where we are now is that we have a weak text, and we have an incredibly hard road to Paris, if we want to have a good global deal,” Samantha Smith, WWF’s global climate and energy initiative, said.

As delegates headed home, the work towards a global climate change deal Paris has just began.