Climate conference approves landmark deal

DURBAN, South Africa – The president of a U.N. climate conference has announced agreement on a program mapping out a new course by all nations to fight climate change over the coming decades.

The 194-party conference agreed to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all countries under the same legal regime to enforce their commitments to control greenhouse gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest.

Currently, only industrial countries have legally binding emissions targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Those commitments expire next year, but they will be extended for another five years under the accord adopted Sunday.