A blueprint for a pact to cap greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming was delivered on Saturday by negotiators from 195 nations as India hoped for a “just and equitable” outcome at the climate conference.
The 48-page draft, that still contains all the unresolved options on the key issues at stake, will form the basis on which Ministers from across the globe, including Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, will try to formulate a binding deal.
As the high-stake climate talks entered its sixth day, negotiators appeared confident that some kind of deal will be reached before the next weekend and they will be able to avert a repeat of the 2009 Copenhagen summit — that failed miserably.
Analysts said any deal emerging from Paris is likely to fall hort of what is needed to cap global warming at 2.0 degrees Celsius or below.
Observers said very little actual progress has been made in terms of compromises and agreements on contentious points. However, some progress had been made on loss and damage and many hurdles have been cleared to smooth future talks.
The draft negotiating text will now be discussed line by line by the Ministers of all the countries. “Negotiators agreed on a new draft agreement which indicates more common ground. Though there is plenty of hard work ahead, the table is now set for ministers to get this done,” said Jennifer Morgan, Director of the Global Climate Programme at the World Resources Institute.