The 194-nation parley under the 17th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as COP 17, hurtled into an unscheduled 13th day after desperate all-night wrangling over text.
“The concern now is that time is extremely short,” said EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, spearheading the drive for a legally binding accord by 2015 covering the world's major carbon polluters.
Polarized positions, occasional flares of resentment and glacial progress in a complex two-track negotiating process revived memories of the Copenhagen Summit (COP 15) two years ago.
Some European delegates feared the Durban talks were in such a mess that conference chair South Africa might have to declare a suspension at the end of the day. A follow-up meeting would then be staged next year to try to reach consensus.
An informal coalition of nearly 90 African countries, least developed nations and small island states, along with emerging giants Brazil and South Africa, have rallied behind Europe's plan for a "roadmap”.
Under this, the European Union would keep the Kyoto Protocol alive after the landmark treaty - whose carbon constraints apply only to rich economies that have ratified it - hits a deadline at the end of 2012.
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