Saturday’s meeting of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) came to the first legally binding and universal agreement on climate change in over 20 years of UN negotiations.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the agreement had been accepted by 195 countries with no one opposing it.

UN General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon said in a statement: “For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and join common cause to take climate action.

"What was once unthinkable has become unstoppable,” he added.

The text of the deal foresees a revision of national plans, aiming to cut carbon emissions, as well as creating a $100-billion support package for developing countries.
Current greenhouse-gas emissions agreements will expire in 2020.

The official signing ceremony will take place at the beginning of 2016 at the UN's headquarters in New York.

In Washington, President Barack Obama lauded the "historic" pact, saying it "represents the best chance we have to save the one planet that we’ve got”.

"No nation, not even one as powerful as ours can solve this challenge alone. And no country, no matter how small, can sit on the sidelines. All of us had to solve it together,” he said during nationally televised remarks. “This agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is firmly committed to a low carbon future.”

COP21 attracted close to 50,000 participants, including 25,000 official delegates from governments, intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society.

Despite France and the UN declaring the agreement a “historic step”, some environmental campaigners remain unhappy, claiming that the targets are not good enough.

Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said that the agreement would not create much positive development.

PHOTO CAPTION

Two banners read 'Stop Climate Crimes' and 'Debout et Determines pour le Climat' (Raised and involved for Climate) as thousands of people demonstrate in front of the Eiffel Tower for climate change in Paris, France, 12 December 2015.

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