After days of emotional debate that saw India and the EU clash over a planned roadmap, UN climate talks today reached a landmark deal under which the European Union will place its current emission-cutting pledges inside legally-binding Kyoto Protocol and all major emitters will be forced to act against global warming.
The crucial negotiations here closed after running nearly 36 hours beyond their schedule, amid criticism by many delegates who felt the host government lacked urgency and strategy.
As per the agreement reached at the 194-party conference, the countries agreed to start negotiations on a new pact that would put all nations under the same legal regime that would come in force by 2020. The pact was described by the chair as balanced.
There was applause in the main conference hall when South Africa's International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, brought down the long-awaited final gavel, BBC reported.
Talks on a new legal deal covering all countries will begin next year and end by 2015, coming into effect by 2020. Management of a fund for climate aid to poor countries has also been agreed, though how to raise the money has not.
Under the deal, the European Union will place its current emission-cutting pledges inside the legally-binding Kyoto Protocol.
The decision was delayed due to a dispute between the EU and India over the precise wording of the "roadmap" for a new global deal.
Earlier, the EU said the developed nations do not want India to harm its economy but insisted the country still needs to agree to a legally binding treaty.
"We would never dream of asking India to harm its economy," EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told PTI. "We fully recognise India's right to grow and we are fully aware that India has lot of development needs and needs to access energy."
"But the challenge is that we just think that a treaty in the world of the 21st century must have the same legal value for everyone," she added. "We would never ask India to take the same kind of responsibilities as the developed world."
The roadmap originated with the EU, the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which all were concerned that without a new legal pact eventually covering emissions from all countries, particularly fast-growing major emitters such as China, the global average temperature since pre-industrial times will rise by more than 2C, the internationally-agreed threshold.
"If there is no legal instrument by which we can make countries responsible for their actions, then we are relegating countries to the fancies of beautiful words," Karl Hood, Grenada's Foreign Minister, said on behalf of Aosis.
"While they develop, we die; and why should we accept this?"
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