The agreement, called the Copenhagen Accord, sets out that developed nations must have written emissions target plans before 31 January 2010, in a bid to limit the increase in global temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius.

According to the United Nations, the Accord is supported by a majority of countries, large and small, rich and poor; including Australia, the United States, China, the Maldives, and Grenada.

“This accord cannot be everything that everyone hoped for, but it is an essential beginning,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Australian Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong said that the Australian Government had not expected that a legally binding outcome would be reached at Copenhagen.

Article continues below…

“These are tough negotiations, there are some very different views and regrettably there are some very extreme views in this debate. But we cannot allow those extreme views to derail this process. We have to remember that this Copenhagen Accord was negotiated by and supported by the majority of the world’s nations, the majority of the world’s economy,” said Ms Wong.

Sudan, Venezuela, Bolvia, Nicaragua and Tuvalu blocked the accord from being adopted by the meeting. It was instead ‘noted’ during a session on Saturday morning.

The Accord also sets out that developed countries will commit to jointly providing approximately $112.46 billion ($US 100 billion) per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries in adapting to climate change.

A “significant” part of this funding will flow through the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to support projects and policies in developing countries related to emissions mitigation, including technology development and transfer. The Accord states that the funding will be from a “wide variety” of public and private sources.

The result has been met with a mixed response from Australian climate change and clean energy leaders.

“Word leaders have emerged with a disappointing and fragile agreement for collective climate action, but those who back delay should take no inspiration from this day,” said John Connor, CEO of The Climate Institute.

"Commitments on international financing were welcome but without robust mechanisms to ensure financial pledges are actually delivered, the Accord risks entrenching distrust between countries," Mr Connor said.

Meanwhile, the Western Australian Sustainable Energy Association (WA SEA) said that the Copenhagen conference overall was a qualified success.

“The conference here in Copenhagen has actually made progress toward a foundation of a climate treaty that will limit global warming from dangerous climate change to below 2 degrees, albeit that deal has yet to be legally binding,” said Prof Ray Wills, Chief Executive of WA SEA, who was one of 50 Australian CEOs and leaders to speak at the global business forum CLIMATE SPARK during COP15.

“The businesses that attended as observers at Copenhagen are ready for action, want market certainty to drive investment are anxious for firm decisions by governments and needed commitments to real action that creates change in the way the planet does business and delivers more sustainable business practices.”

"The biggest challenge, turning the political will into a legally binding agreement has moved to Mexico,” said the leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative Kim Carstensen.

The next annual UN Climate Change Conference will take place towards the end of 2010 in Mexico City, preceded by a major two week negotiating session in Bonn, Germany, scheduled for 31 May to 11 June.