COP21 Paris climate summit: UN climate talks approve draft text for a deal
Delegates at a UN climate conference in Paris today cleared a key hurdle to the formation of an international climate deal.
Ministers worked through the night to sign off the draft text, which creates a common basis from which they will now try to resolve hundreds of points of disagreement.
Laurence Tubiana, French climate envoy, told the meeting: "This text marks the will of all to reach an agreement. We are not at the end of the route. Major political issues are yet to be resolved."
It will be used as a basis for discussions between ministers from almost 200 nations on Monday, and they will try to reach a broader agreement by the end of next week.
The draft text represents the result of four years work since the process was launched in Durban in 2011.