UN Passes 'Not Perfect' Climate Deal

Members of the UN finally reached a global agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, after debating uninterrupted for two days. Delegates at the conference in Lima, Peru struggled to draft and approve a plan, after poorer countries accused wealthier countries of not taking responsibility for their environmental burden. The conference, which began December 1, ended 33 hours after it was supposed to finish. The last hours included a final 48-hour stretch without breaks. "As a text it's not perfect, but it includes the positions of the parties,” said Peru Environmental Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who chaired the summit. Some environmental groups were flat-out dismissive of the deal. “The text went from weak to weaker to weakest and it's very weak indeed,” said Sam Smith, chief of climate policy at the World Wildlife Fund.