UN climate talks in OT deadlock

Associated Press

LIMA, PERU

Already well into overtime, U.N. climate talks reached a standstill Saturday as developing countries rejected a draft deal they said would allow rich countries to shirk their responsibilities to fight global warming and pay for its impacts.

The main goal for the two-week session in Lima was relatively modest: Reach agreement on what information should go into the pledges that countries submit for a global climate pact expected to be adopted next year in Paris.

Even that became complicated as several developing nations rejected a draft decision they said blurred the distinction between what rich and poor countries can be expected to do.

“We have deadlock,” Chinese negotiator Liu Zhenmin said.