Battle waged by more than 100 countries to secure best climate change deal

A battle for many of the issues like justice, minority peoples, and compensation was being waged in Paris overnight as more than 100 countries joined together to demand a more ambitious global agreement on climate change.

The broad outlines of a deal involving all countries has political agreement, but the details were still to be finalised, dealing with who would pay how much into a fund to help the worst affected countries and how the targets for emissions reduction would be checked.

The text had been honed down from almost 100 pages to 27 as the French negotiators strived to get agreement, but this led to accusations that they were settling for the lowest common denominator.

A number of countries and the EU came together to form a pressure group to push for greater ambition. But the announcement yesterday evening that they were being joined by Brazil was seen as a breakthrough in the negotiations that the French hope to wrap up today.

The EU Commissioner for Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete described it as a game changer. “Such a relevant emerging economy joining us is clear proof the coalition is delivering.

“We will not accept a minimalist, lowest common denominator, wait-until-next-year agreement. Our moment is now.”

Brazil was one of the “Bric” countries blamed for the failures to achieve a sufficiently ambitious agreement in Copenhagen in 2009.

Asked when they would be joined by India and China, environment minister, Tony De Brum from the extremely vulnerable Marshall Islands, said: “We are open to them, and we hope they will bring more ambition and uphold some of the principles on which this group is based”.

But experts warned that the final hours of a negotiation when a deal is very close is always dangerous as some engage in brinkmanship, seeing it as a good time to make demands.

The atmosphere was very positive and upbeat with everyone pointing to the huge development over the past six years since Copenhagen with a general acceptance and a drive towards transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

The debate was continuing over when a developing country becomes a developed economy and so is liable to contribute towards the cost of helping others — it is particularly moot for China, the world’s second biggest economy and GHG emitter.

Some want the process — which will be legally binding — to start earlier with a first stocktake in 2018 to get ready for the agreement to come into force in 2020, and to drive towards the 1.5C target, and also to kick off the five-yearly reviews.