– Call for compromise –
As he released the draft of the pact, Fabius said a deal was “extremely close” but appealed for compromise from all sides.
Most nations submitted to the UN before the conference their voluntary plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions from 2020, a process that was widely hailed as an important platform for success.
But scientists say that, even if the cuts were fulfilled, they would still put Earth on track for warming of at least 2.7C.
Negotiators remain divided over when and how often to review national plans so that they can be “scaled up” with pledges for deeper emissions cuts.
The draft text sought to end some other key rows, by removing options and giving just one clear proposal on each of the disputes.
One of the most striking was over the temperature limit target to enshrine in the accord.
Nations most vulnerable to climate change had lobbied hard to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
However several big polluters, such as China and India as well as oil producing-giant Saudi Arabia, prefer a ceiling of 2C, which would allow them to burn fossil fuels for longer.
The latest draft offers a compromise that states the purpose of the agreement is to hold temperatures to well below 2C, but aim for 1.5C.
“With this, I would be able to go home and tell my people that our chance for survival is not lost,” said Tony de Brum, foreign minister of the Marshall Islands, one of the archipelagic nations that could be wiped out by rising sea levels.
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