Final draft of Paris climate agreement reached

UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moonspeaks as the Action Day event of the 2015United NationsClimate Change Conference (COP 21) closes at Le Bourget on the northern suburbs of Paris,France, Dec. 5, 2015. A final draft of a new global climate agreement was reached by negotiators in Paris on Saturday, ready for ministers to read and deal with sensitive political divergences next week. (Xinhua/Zhou Lei)

PARIS, Dec. 5 -- A final draft of a new global climate agreement was reached by negotiators in Paris on Saturday, ready for ministers to read and deal with sensitive political divergences next week.

The draft, now running to 21 pages, consists of 26 articles covering different issues include emission reduction, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology and transparency of action. It will now be handed over to ministers for further discussion next week.

The Paris agreement is expected to be the second legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty which obliges developed countries to take the lead in cutting carbon emission and providing financial support to developing countries. The first one was Kyoto Protocol, which set quantitative emission cutting targets for developed countries.

Compared to the first version of draft negotiators reached early this year in Paris, which runs to nearly 100 pages, the draft on Friday was more readable with fewer and clearer options for different issues.

"It's good news, it deserves to be celebrated," said Su Wei, China's chief negotiator.

He added, however, that "several divergences" remained to be solved in the agreement. Countries should enhance their efforts next week, work with each other and to find concrete solutions as soon as possible.