"Tough talks" ahead as global governments agree to work towards new climate change deal in 2015

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey welcomed the agreement, saying that the UK had achieved its "key objective" of ensuring that all 195 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had agreed to finalise their post-2020 climate change targets by the first quarter of 2015, ahead of the planned 2015 COP to be held in Paris. Countries must submit "clear and transparent plans" by the first quarter of 2015 and well in advance of COP 21.

"The world now has a work programme, with timetables," he said.

"From a new rulebook and finance to strengthen our work to tackle deforestation around the world to a vital new package on measuring, reporting and verifying emissions, this was a conference that dealt with the nuts and bolts for the global agreement we believe is possible in 2015," he said.

Amongst the announcements to emerge from the conference was a commitment to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests, which accounts for around one fifth of manmade emissions. This will be backed by $280 million from the US, Norway and the UK. A new mechanism will also be set up to better protect the most vulnerable countries against loss and damage as a result of extreme weather and other events linked  to climate change.

Developed countries have also pledged an additional $100m to the Adaptation Fund. The fund finances projects and programmes which help developing countries adapt to the impact of climate change.

As announced at the start of the conference, the UK will also end financial support through the Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) for the construction of publicly-funded new coal-fired power plants overseas. The US has already adopted a similar policy, and the two governments intend to work together to encourage other countries to do the same. It will still provide support in "rare circumstances"; such as to poorer countries where there is no feasible alternative to coal-fired power, or to take account of developing technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

UNFCCC is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set legally binding emissions limitation and reduction commitments to 2020 for 37 of the most industrialised countries and territories, including the EU.