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Paris Climate Conference Agreement Delayed One Day

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A participant works in a meeting room during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, Dec. 11, 2015.

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VOA News

Last updated on: December 11, 2015 6:17 AM

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced from the U.N. climate talks in Paris that a final agreement will not be produced from the conference until Saturday, rather than late Friday as scheduled.

Fabius made the announcement early Friday morning after what sources said  was a hard night of negotiations among officials from the 195 nations attending.

Despite the reports of difficult negotiations, Fabius said the atmosphere was "good, things are positive, things are going in the right direction," when he spoke to reporters Friday.

The biggest disagreements have been over how much financial responsibility poorer nations should take in the cost of emissions-cutting measures, and what the stated long-term goal should be for the agreement.

FILE - Trucks are seen parked in an open lot near a national highway on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, Dec. 2, 2015.

In another development, Beijing said President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss climate change.

The White House has yet to mention to conversation, and Beijing did not comment on what was said during the phone call.

Global temperatures

Earlier conferences had set the goal at keeping global temperatures within 2 degrees of what they had been before the industrial era started. But newer research shows that better results would be achieved with a lower goal, such as 1.5 degrees.

The latest draft of the agreement also includes wording that calls for "the widest possible cooperation by all countries" in the effort to reduce the emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, walks with White House senior adviser Brian Deese, left, to meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during the climate change conference at Le Bourget, France, Dec. 10, 2015.

The question of which countries should bear the financial responsibility for emissions reduction has been a major point of contention at the conference. Representatives of the 134 developing countries objected to some industrialized countries' efforts to set conditions for funding.

The draft document, coming after four years of negotiations, is meant to offer nations options to reduce the emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases.

Scientists have warned that as Earth warms up, the planet will be increasingly hostile to human life, with rising sea levels, devastating storms and severe droughts.