Final draft of climate deal agreement unveiled in Paris

December 12, 2015 22:24

After years of buildup and weeks of negotiations, diplomats issued a final draft of a climate change agreement Saturday that the French foreign minister described as "fair ... and legally binding."

If adopted, the agreement would set an ambitious goal of halting average warming at no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures -- and of striving for a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.

World leaders hailed the draft as a milestone in the battle to keep Earth a planet that is hospitable to human life. But there is still a mountain to climb.

The draft now goes to government ministers. Delegates from 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be asked later in the day to adopt or reject the proposal.

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