UN climate talks run into overtime

United Nations’ climate talks to agree on the rules of the 2015 Paris Agreement dragged on into an extra day on Saturday as ministers tried to overcome the last political hurdles after working through the night.

The schedule for the closing plenary, when sparks could fly among nations if there are issues in the text still open to opposition, has been repeatedly pushed back to later in the day. Some exhausted negotiators were seen leaving the conference venue in Katowice, Poland, in the early hours of Saturday morning to get a few hours’ rest but many ministers worked through the night to try and iron out differences. Despite this, European climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete seemed optimistic on Saturday morning. “UN climate talks go into overtime. Latest version of the draft agreement just out...A deal to make the Paris Agreement operational is within reach,” he tweeted. The last stumbling blocks have been around the ambition of developed countries’ emissions cut pledges which countries more vulnerable to climate change are trying to increase.

Another sticking point re- mains over accounting rules for future carbon market mechanisms. A senior negotiator said Brazil still had concerns over the rules aimed at avoiding double counting emissions cuts. “There are still a range of possible outcomes and Brazil continues to work constructively with other parties to find a workable pathway forward,” said Antonio Marcondes, Brazil’s chief negotiator.