Amid Disputes, Critical Paris Climate Talks Run Over

High-stakes climate talks outside Paris will not end Friday as planned but will continue at least one more day as diplomats try to overcome disagreements over how—or even whether—to share the costs of fighting climate change and shift to clean energy on a global scale.
Amid Disputes, Critical Paris Climate Talks Run Over
Secretary of State John Kerry waves as he walks off stage after speaking at the Mashable/U.N. Foundation Earth to Paris Summit during the COP 21 U.N. conference on climate change at Le Petit Palais, Paris, on Dec. 7, 2015. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
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LE BOURGET, France—High-stakes climate talks outside Paris will not end Friday as planned but will continue at least one more day as diplomats try to overcome disagreements over how—or even whether—to share the costs of fighting climate change and shift to clean energy on a global scale.

Negotiators from more than 190 countries are trying to do something that’s never been done: reach a deal for all countries to reduce man-made carbon emissions and cooperate to adapt to rising seas and increasingly extreme weather caused by human activity. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry zipped in and out of negotiation rooms as delegates broke into smaller groups overnight to iron out their differences.

After talks wrapped up at nearly 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he is aiming for a final draft Saturday.

The two-week talks, the culmination of years of U.N.-led efforts for a long-term climate deal, had been scheduled to wrap up Friday. U.N. climate conferences often run past deadline, given the complexity and sensitivity of each word in an international agreement, and the consequences for national economies.

People attend a climate conference at the U.S. pavilion during the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
People attend a climate conference at the U.S. pavilion during the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. AP Photo/Christophe Ena