As a result of U.S. insistence, the 31-page agreement was explicitly crafted to exclude emissions reductions targets and finance from the legally binding parts of the deal. Other areas of the deal, including five-year review cycles, do carry legal force. That would free Obama from having to submit the deal to Congress. Also, any clauses in the agreement that would expose the U.S. to liability and compensation claims for causing climate change were avoided.
The U.S. – and European – position was a huge disappointment for the low-lying and small island states, which argued they needed recognition that their countries could pay the ultimate price for climate change in terms of land loss and migration. However the Americans argued that it would kill the COP and that was the price of the deal. Read more at http://www.theguardian.com/
