US, China, India and South Africa reach deal

According to a senior Obama administration official the United States, China, India and South Africa have reached a "meaningful agreement" on climate change Friday evening.
Associated Press - 18/12/2009 - A senior Obama administration official says the US, China, India and South Africa have reached a "meaningful agreement" on climate change.

The official characterized the deal as a first step, but said it was not enough to combat the threat of a warming planet.

Details of the deal with these emerging economies were not immediately clear.

The agreement was reached Friday at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen after a meeting among President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been officially announced.

+ More

New draft for Copenhagen deal

In a newly written draft named the “Copenhagen Accord” a 2010-deadline for reaching a legally binding climate treaty has been dropped, Reuters reported Friday afternoon.
Marianne Bom - 18/12/2009 - A new draft for a global climate deal in Copenhagen has leaked to the press. The draft has been named the “Copenhagen Accord”, Reuters reports.

Earlier it was reported by the media, that the heads of state and government could not agree on what to call the text negotiated.

In the new draft a reference to an end-2010 deadline for reaching a legally binding treaty was removed, compared to a previous draft, Reuters reports.

The draft did still include a limit of a maximum two degree Celsius global average temperature rise.

According to Danish media, a probable scenario at the end of Friday afternoon is that the world leaders continue negotiations until the early evening.

Da UNFCCC