The Latest: Climate talks to shift gears

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As talks on a global climate agreement reach their mid-way point, negotiators are supposed to finish their work on a new draft and hand it over to environment and foreign ministers to work out the remaining disagreements.

The French hosts of the conference have set a noon deadline (1100GMT) for negotiators to come back with a text that can be pushed up to higher-level talks.

Delegates say there are still many unresolved issues, mostly related to how to spell out the obligations of countries in different stages of development in fighting climate change.

Though 184 countries have presented plans to cut or curb emissions of greenhouse gases, many are conditional on financial support from wealthy countries.

One of the sticking points is who pays. The U.S. and other developed countries that have traditionally been the only ones expected to provide climate finance are now asking for the donor base to be expanded to include the most advanced developing countries.

Some members of a developing country bloc are pushing back, saying they’re worried that rich countries are trying to dodge their responsibilities to deal with climate change.

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