Lima accord essential to combat climate change but much work remains: French FM

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday welcomed Lima accord on climate change which he said prepared the ground for Paris's next year gathering to forge concrete measures aimed at slowing increases in global temperature, droughts, floods, storms, and sea-level rise.

"After intensive negotiations, Lima conference on climate change has concluded with an agreement that constitutes a basis for preparing Climate Paris 2015...It was essential to continue the momentum of recent announcements made by the European Union, the United States and China on reducing greenhouse gases," Fabius said.

"The agreement, which still needs an important and difficult work, will provide practical solutions to fight against climate change, especially for the most vulnerable countries," the French top diplomat added in a communique.

Early on Sunday, negotiators from over 190 countries and organizations gathered in Peru capital during two weeks, agreed that governments will submit national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an informal deadline of March 31, 2015 to form the basis of a global accord scheduled for Paris summit by the end of next year. Enditem