Ministers tackle flashpoints in race for climate deal

LE BOURGET, France (AFP) – France is to deliver Wednesday a streamlined draft of a historic global pact to fight climate change, as world leaders scrambling to overcome deal-breakers showed optimism ahead of a weekend deadline.

The 195-nation UN talks have been billed as the last chance to avert the worst consequences of global warming: deadly drought, floods and storms, and rising seas that will engulf islands and densely populated coastlines.

To seal an elusive deal by Friday’s deadline, ministers are racing to resolve a handful of stubborn disputes that have blocked the path to a universal climate pact for more than 20 years.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, presiding over the conference, said he would deliver a streamlined draft for the deal by 1 p.m. (1200 GMT) Wednesday, after receiving feedback from splinter groups haggling over the tough issues.

“It will be an important step, I hope, but not yet the final result,’’ he said.

Nations remain divided over how to help developing countries cope with the costs of globalwarming,whatlimittosetforplanetary overheating, how to share the burden betweenrichandpoornationsandhowtoreview progress in slashing greenhouse gases.

“Though we have some tough issues in the next few days to resolve I am confident that we have the ability to do it,’’ US Secretary of State John Kerry said on the sidelines of the conference at Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris.

“They are finally doing the dirty work of negotiating, which is very hard,’’ said Jennifer Morgan, climate analyst at the Washington-based World Resources Institute, an observer at the talks.

“You are finally starting to see the really hard bargaining and arguing that has to happen. It is a good thing, because otherwise they would still be standing by their positions.’’

Observers said a new sense of confidence was emerging in Paris, a hopeful sign six years after the spectacular collapse of the last attempt to reach a global deal in Copenhagen, fractured by distrust between rich and poor countries.

“I believe we can find a comprehensive, ambitious, legally binding agreement with no person left behind. I’m fully confident,’’ said China’s top climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua.

India’s environment minister Prakash Javadekar said he was disappointed by a “low level of ambition’’ among rich nations, but predicted the world was “roughly 80 hours away’’ from a deal.