Spotlight: Paris conference in home stretch to reach universal climate rescue pact, but difficulties remain

With less than 48 hours left for a due close of the UN climate conference in Paris, negotiators from across the world are spending another sleepless night to tackle remaining stumbling blocks so as to reach what could be the most ambitious climate rescue deal the world has ever seen.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday there were "still difficulties" in the climate talks, especially on financing.

On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister and president of Paris conference Laurent Fabius presented a new draft as the basis for further negotiations.

The draft, including a core agreement and accompanying decisions, runs to 29 pages, much shorter than a 43-page previous version.

"We've made progress, but still a number of work needs to be done," Fabius told delegates from nearly 200 countries in Le Bourget conference center on the outskirts of Paris.

According to the French minister, three quarters of the nearly 1,000 brackets which represented disagreements were removed from the draft. The main outstanding issues include post-2020 climate finance, ambition of action and how to reflect the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" in all elements of the new agreement.

Fabius said the new draft was the result of consultations made among countries in the past two days.

"It is not the final version of the agreement," he said, but a basis upon which countries would continue to seek compromise.

Fabius hopes the final agreement can be reached by Dec. 11, the closing date of the Paris meeting. Past UN climate conferences often dragged days beyond the original event calendar.

China's Special Envoy on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said the Chinese delegation was analyzing the new text and would consult with its partners in the BASIC group, which also includes India, Brazil and South Africa, and in the group of G77, as well as developed countries.

"We are striving to contribute to the success of the conference, to reach a comprehensive, balanced, legally binding agreement which is applicable to all," Xie said. "Tonight will be a sleepless night."

BASIC countries earlier called for reaching a climate deal in accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Having shown high ambitions for the post-2020 period in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), the BASIC countries urged "developed countries to take the lead by committing and implementing ambitious emission reduction targets and providing enhanced financial resources, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support to developing countries."

They also called for "a strong, comprehensive and meaningful decision on pre-2020 goals in Paris with a view to laying a solid foundation for post-2020 enhanced action," especially with regard to financial support from developed countries.

Meanwhile, representatives of island nations also stepped up efforts to push for tougher actions against climate change and called for a bolder global temperature rise target.

Nations most vulnerable to climate change want to set a goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial Revolution levels, while the rest of the world opts for a 2-degree Celsius temperature rise.

After representatives managed to close ranks over a number of issues, many long-term observers of the global climate change endeavors expressed cautious optimism that the Paris meeting may yield a far-reaching deal.

However, the remaining differences are difficult to be bridged as countries may become more reluctant to compromise.

"There are still difficulties, we are aware of them, on financing... There is also some resistance, particularly in relation to compensation for loss and damage," Hollande said.

With climate negotiators toiling to find common ground, climate activists also continued their protests in many parts of Paris.

Hundreds of protesters have held a sit-in against the new draft agreement released Wednesday at the Paris climate talks, saying it leaves out many key issues and the targets set are far from enough. Endi