Delegates Arrive at Bali Climate Deal

Delegates at the UN summit in Bali have agreed a deal on curbing climate change after days of bitter wrangling.

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The EU had pressed for a commitment that industrialised nations should commit to cuts of 25-40% by 2020, a bid that was implacably opposed by a bloc containing the US, Canada and Japan.

The final text does not mention specific emissions targets, but does acknowledge that "deep cuts in global emissions will be required to achieve the ultimate objective" of avoiding dangerous climate change.

After hours of chaotic, sometimes angry haggling, the United Nations conference on climate change last night appeared set to approve what critics describe as a weak deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Nerves were frayed as sleep-deprived delegates from nearly 190 countries repeatedly edged to the brink of agreement, then pulled back into more acrimonious debate. Each move further diluted a compromise that, from the outset, was, "a lot of structure with not a lot of content," said Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation.

The U.N. climate change conference in Bali was filled with emotion and cliff-hanging anticipation on Saturday, an extra day added because of a failure to reach agreement during the scheduled sessions.

The final result was a global warming pact that provides for negotiating rounds to conclude in 2009.