No agreement reached at UN climate talks in Copenhagen

Reaching a legally-binding deal at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen looks increasingly out of reach. Many are calling the "Copenhagen Accord" an overly ambitious goal for the conference. The climate change summit has concluded without approving the accord, but it has been formally acknowledged, despite opposition from several nations.

The decision was made after an all-night plenary session. The text of the final decision says the conference of the parties takes note of the Copenhagen Accord. But it stops short of a full endorsement. The decision also lists the countries that are in favor of the deal and those against it.

The accord puts off many tough decisions until next year. US President Barack Obama spoke of the deal as "the beginning of a new era of international action." But many other leaders said it was "imperfect", and "insufficient."

The accord adds a promise of 100 billion US dollars a year to help developing nations tackle climate change from 2020. Obama announced the deal after discussions with leaders from China, India, South Africa and Brazil.

Premier Wen Jiabao has returned to Beijing after attending the leaders' meeting of the UN Climate Talks. In his speech to the meeting, he said China will go forward with its efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions even if the conference fails to reach a deal.

Wen Jiabao said, "At this very moment, billions of people across the world are following what is happening here in Copenhagen closely. The will that we express and the commitments that we make here should help push forward mankind's historical process of combating climate change. Standing at this podium, I am deeply aware of the heavy responsibility. China takes climate change very seriously. We have made and will continue to make unremitting efforts to tackle this challenge."

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