Dec 12 (TIP NEWSWIRE) : A landmark climate change deal was clinched with the approval of India, China and the US, after two weeks of intense discussions and negotiations, with the legally-binding pact seeking to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and committing $100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing nations on Saturday, December 12.

The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions.

The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary.

Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals.

Amidst cheers and applause from delegates from 195 countries, the draft of the “historic” deal was presented by President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

“I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document,” said Fabius.

French President Francois Hollande appealed to the gathering to approve the accord.

“Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted.”

Fabius has claimed that the agreement which is 31 pages long acknowledges the notion of “climate justice” and takes into account the countries’ differentiated responsibilities and their respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.

Key points of Deal, to take effect from 2020

The measures in the agreement included:

• To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century

• To keep global temperature increase “well below” 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C

• To review progress every five years

• $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future.

US President Barack Obama has hailed the agreement as “ambitious” and “historic”, but also warned against complacency. “Together, we’ve shown what’s possible when the world stands as one.” And although admitting that the deal was not “perfect”, he said it was “the best chance to save the one planet we have”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed the landmark climate accord in Paris, saying it pointed the world towards a greener future.”Outcome of Paris agreement has no winners or losers. Climate justice has won & we are all working towards a greener future,” PM Modi posted on Twitter. The deliberations at the climate summit and the agreement reached “demonstrates the collective wisdom” of world leaders to mitigate climate change, he added.

China’s chief negotiator Xie Zhenhua said the deal was not perfect. But he added that “this does not prevent us from marching historical steps forward”.

Nearly 200 countries took part in the negotiations to strike the first climate deal to commit all countries to cut emissions, which would come into being in 2020.

The chairman of the group representing some of the world’s poorest countries called the deal historic, adding: “We are living in unprecedented times, which call for unprecedented measures.

“It is the best outcome we could have hoped for, not just for the Least Developed Countries, but for all citizens of the world.”