Bloc of 134 developing nations also 'happy' with climate pact: spokeswoman

The G77 bloc of 134 developing nations, including China, gave the nod Saturday for a hard-fought UN climate rescue pact due to be presented for adoption in Paris.

"We are united, all together. We are happy to go home with this text," Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, a South African negotiator and spokeswoman for the G77, the biggest bloc in the UN climate forum, told AFP.

The G77 added its voice to those of the Like-Minded Developing Countries group, the European Union, and the Least Developed Countries—all of whom came out in support of the final draft which was presented to ministers by host France in the early morning hours.

Rich and developing nations have been at odds for years over questions fairness and finance in sharing out responsibility for greenhouse gas emission curbs.

Developing nations insist rich countries must shoulder the lion's share of responsibility for tackling climate change as they have polluted most since the Industrial Revolution—a principle known as "differentiation".

But the United States and other rich nations say emerging giants must also do more as they account for most of today's emissions and will be largely responsible for future warming.

Finance for developing nations to make the shift to costly renewable energy and shore up defences against climate impacts, has been another long argument.

A deal seeking consensus positions on all these points has been carefully hammered out by negotiators over years, and the finishing touches added in tough negotiations which opened in Paris on November 30.

© 2015 AFP