UN climate talks run into overtime
UN talks on slowing the pace of destructive global warming ran a whole day into extra time on Saturday as negotiators locked horns on details of extending the greenhouse gas-curbing Kyoto Protocol.
A closing plenary called for around 03:00 pm (noon GMT) had not started three hours later amid reports of a last-minute deadlock on "hot air" carbon credits.
The talks were originally to have closed on Friday.
After a long night of haggling, conference chairman Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah urged delegates on Saturday to make haste and compromise.
"I sense that although no one is entirely satisfied with the package, there is good general agreement for bringing the agreement to the plenary" for closure, he said.
"I didn't see any possibility to open the box of Pandora again because we will never finish."
Delegates must sign off on a new term for the Kyoto Protocol on curbing Earth-warming greenhouse gases as an interim measure to rein in climate change pending a new pact due to take effect in 2020.
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