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Conference agrees on new course to fight climate change

The Associated Press Published Saturday, December 10, 2011 8:47PM EST

U.N. climate official Christiana Figueres, right, talks with delegates at the climate change summit as it nears it's end in the city of Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. (AP / Schalk van Zuydam)

Text:

DURBAN, South Africa - The president of a UN climate conference has announced agreement on a program mapping out a new course by all nations to fight climate change over the coming decades.

The 194-party conference agreed to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all countries under the same legal regime to enforce their commitments to control greenhouse gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest.

Currently, only industrial countries have legally binding emissions targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Those commitments expire next year, but they will be extended for another five years under the accord adopted Sunday.

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Protesters shout out as they demonstrate inside the building were the climate change conference takes place in the city of Durban, South Africa, Friday, Dec 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)