Climate deal aims to limit warming to 1.5C

Saturday, December 12, 2015, 11:43 AM - After two weeks of talks, involving representatives from 200 countries, a final draft agreement has emerged from climate change talks in Paris.

Ministers hammered out the final draft long into the night, announcing it on Saturday morning -- including ambitious plans to limit global warming to "well below" 2^oC, according to the BBC.

"The decisive agreement for the planet is here and now,'' French President Hollande, who was hosting the talks, said Saturday. "France calls upon you to adopt the first universal agreement on climate.''

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was up to individual countries to move the agreement from paper to reality.

"We must protect the planet that sustains us,'' he said.

The highlights of the new agreement include bringing CO2 emissions to their peak "as soon as possible," and keeping global warming below 2^oC, and strive to limit it to 1.5^oC.

There's also a commitment to pledge $100 billion per year to developing countries for "climate finance."

Though the final draft has been released, delegates at the conference still need to approve it in order for it to have effect.

Weather Network science writer Scott Sutherland will have detailed analysis on The Weather Network online Monday. In the meantime, here's some of the reaction to the deal on Twitter.