* Negotiators from 195 nations delivered a blueprint on Saturday for a pact to save mankind from disastrous global warming, raising hopes that decades of arguments will finally end with a historic agreement in Paris.
* The planned deal would aim to break the world's dependence on fossil fuels for energy, slashing the greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, coal and gas that are causing temperatures to rise dangerously.
* Tortuous UN negotiations dating back to the early 1990s have failed to forge unity between rich and poor nations, and the Paris talks are being described as the "last, best chance" to save mankind.
* They began on Monday with a record-breaking gathering of 150 world leaders who sought to energize the process, and the next crucial phase ended Saturday with the adoption of a draft text of an agreement.
* Negotiators finalized the draft following an often tense week of talks at a conference centre in Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris.
>> See pg 11
