On December 11, 2011, UN climate negotiators, who had gathered in Durban, South Africa, struck a compromise deal on a roadmap for an accord that will, for the first time, legally force all major carbon emitters to cut greenhouse gas emissions, ending days of wrangling between India and the EU over the fate of the Kyoto protocol.
While the new pact to be finalised till 2015, will, for the first time, bring India and China under the ambit of a legal mechanism guiding emission cuts, the accord will come into effect only from 2020.
The pact on tackling climate change must be completed by 2015, and talks on the new legal deal covering all countries will begin next year, when Kyoto Protocol expires.