How climate negotiations proceed: just like an action movie

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — With world leaders back home, it's time for the hardcore negotiators to work on the more mundane guts of a climate deal, and they are being told to quicken their pace.

The lower-level negotiators have a Saturday noon deadline to come up with language for a new text of a deal that narrows the options to something the big guns start with, according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is the president of the climate talks.

I don't think I can ever remember a time when more than 150 leaders of nations, heads of state have come together in one place for the purpose of furthering an issue of concern to all of them, Kerry said, adding that climate talks represent one of the great security challenges of the world, as well as environmental challenges, as well as energy challenges, as well as health challenges, as well as moral obligations.

The announcement Monday from Bill Gates, other private business leaders and 20 different countries about a multibillion-dollar research-and-development program for clean energy will go down as on the most important deals struck in Paris, Stern said.

Early Wednesday, an Indian delegate said that India would reduce dirty coal power use if other countries gave financial aid for cleaner renewable power.

Jennifer Morgan, global climate program director for World Resources Institute, said the thousands of lower-level negotiators are in smaller groups where they have to narrow options on each issue from, say, six to two for the higher-level officials to peruse.