Mark Poynting
Climate and environmental scientist

The final draft agreement has been published and covers how much developed countries should contribute developing nations to help them deal with climate change.

The headline figure is at least $300 billion (about £240 billion) a year until 2035, the previous offer was $250 billion – but this was rejected.

When you read the fine print, the text says that developed countries should “take the lead”.

That appears to leave the door open for other nations like China to potentially contribute, even if they are not required to.

It’s also worth noting that the $300 billion includes public and private sources – so not all of it would have to be paid directly by governments.

The text still includes a broader ambition to try to reach $1.3 billion by 2035 – the figure a recent UN-backed report said developing countries would need from external sources.

But the $1.3 billion figure is surrounded by weak UN language, and it is understood it would involve more private financing than the main $300 billion target, possibly including loans.

Loans are not favored by developing countries because they fear that they would add to their often already significant debt burdens.