Negotiators in Paris from 195 countries agreed on Dec. 5 on a blueprint deal aimed at reducing global carbon emissions and limiting global warming. Participants at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were poised the following week for final discussion and approval of the agreement. The document addresses deforestation, food security, poverty and a host of other issues, including what developed countries can do to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The blueprint includes commitments to “provide developing countries with long-term, scaled-up, predictable, new and additional finance, technology and capability-building.” Tortuous U.N. negotiations dating back to the early 1990s have failed to forge unity between rich and poor nations, and the Paris talks are being described as the “last, best chance” to have an impact on global warming.

This article appears in December 21-28 2015.