Climate envoys haggle over final deal in Egypt

United Nations climate talks that looked on the verge of breaking down Saturday morning are in their closing stages as negotiators hammer out the details of a deal that would make poor countries responsible for damages caused by global warming. A historic deal to pay is involved.

A full draft agreement was brought up in an open plenary session at 4:10 a.m. for debate before being signed by country representatives. The chairman of the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, said that 112 world leaders had gathered to advance the global climate agenda and deliberate on how to turn commitments into implementation. “I beg you to accept the draft decision that I will present before you,” he told the plenary session. “The world is watching.”

The frenetic summit has taken place against the backdrop of a global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and exposed fault lines over how the world should navigate the transition away from fossil fuels. By the start of the talks, there were fears that the crisis would dent ambitions among delegates, given hopes of keeping alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the century.