Global Warming Facts: 196 United Nations Countries Agree to Climate Deal at Lima, Peru Conference, But Will It Really Control Change?

After a marathon discussion that ran a total of about 30 hours, all countries in the United Nations have agreed to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but that deal is wrought with noncommittal language and lacks any real oversight.

NPR reported the deal is the first, ever, of its kind and pays special attention to the specific needs of developed and developing countries.

Representatives of 196 member countries spent all day Saturday arguing over the wording of the initiative as well as determining who needed to cut what amount of greenhouse gases.

Smaller countries have also demanded financial compensation for the effects caused by larger developed countries'.excessive emissions. They have accused the richer nations of ignoring the damage already done to the climate.

Some small low-lying island nations have demanded the compensation because of losses resulting from rising sea levels.

But part of the deal also rejected an overview to monitor compliance.

In addition, the language in the deal determined that countries can provide data for a specific target in cutting emissions -- a change from an earlier version which required a target number.

For these reasons, environmentalists have been critical of the effort and said it is basically ineffective.

The five-page agreement is known as the Lima Call for Climate Action and serves as a draft for the countries to detail in Paris next year. Despite the criticisms, it is still a breakthrough in a much-needed area of global cooperation, The New York Times reported.

Every nation is going to provide a detailed domestic policy plan to limit emissions within the next six months. This will deal with all greenhouse gases including burning coal, gas and oil. The plans will then be published on a U.N. website and will be included in the formal agreement next December. All plans and policies signed by the 196 countries will be enacted by 2020.

The deal is a success in what has been a 20-year impasse for the UN in orchestrating a serious global warming plan. Since 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol was put in place -- requiring countries to act but without any push for enacting a policy -- developing nations like China and India, two of the largest greenhouse gas polluters, have gone unchecked.