Both French President François Hollande, as well as the president of the talks, Laurent Fabius, called on countries to approve the agreement during rousing speeches Saturday.
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Sanders, however, said that while the agreement was a step forward, it not enough to tackle climate change.
The new version removes disputed concepts like “climate neutrality” and “emissions neutrality”, which had appeared in earlier drafts but met opposition from countries including China.
The significance of so many countries pledging to cut emissions should not be underestimated, he said – and, while it would not solve global warming in one hit, the five-yearly updates would set the world on a “clear pathway to a lower-carbon future”.
Obama traveled to the Paris conference two weeks ago and was one of several world leaders to deliver a speech in the opening session. Actual dollar amounts were kept out of the agreement itself, but wealthy nations had previously pledged to provide $100 billion in climate finance by 2020.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry zipped in and out of meetings on his fifth straight day in France trying to iron out differences with developing countries such as India.
However, it will be voluntary for developing countries, if they want to do so.
This photo provided by environmental group Greenpeace shows the Arc de Triomphe roundabout painted with yellow by activists, Friday, Dec.11, 2015. “It is linked with the convention (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change) while Common But Differentiated Responsibilities is imbibed in it”, Javadekar said.
“You are going to be deciding a historic agreement”, he said.
“We still have some distance to cover before reaching our final deal, and some key issues remain unresolved”.
Some of the delegates had pushed for the pact to limit warming even more. It aims to keep global temperatures from rising another degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) between now and 2100.
Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, President-designate of COP21, puts his hand over his heart after a speech.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a 27-page draft text on the table “a good basis” for a deal to help avert more powerful storms, droughts, desertification and rising sea levels.
May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, an organization pressing financial institutions to divest from fossil fuels, said the reference to 1.5 degrees Celsius was essential.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated across Paris, saying the accord is too weak to save the planet. The U.N. has been working for more than two decades to persuade governments to work together to reduce the man-made emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.
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The text said that developed countries shall continue taking the lead by undertaking economy wide emission reduction targets while the developing countries should continue enhancing their mitigation efforts and are also encouraged to move over time towards economy wide emission reduction or limitation targets in the light of “different national circumstances”.
