One hundred and ninety six nations attending the COP21 meeting in Paris, France have voted to adopt a climate change agreement that covers both the developed countries and the developing countries.

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than two degrees Celsius has been agreed at the end of the negotiations today.

In what is being called a historic achievement, the pact is the first to commit all countries to carbon emissions as the agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary.

Close to two hundred nations took part in the negotiations to strike the first climate deal to commit all countries to cut emissions to come into being in 2020.

The document includes two essential recognitions:

• That climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus requires the widest possible cooperation by all countries

• That deep reduction in global emissions will be required in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention and emphasizing the need for urgency in addressing climate change.

The deal also calls for five-year updates on how the plan will be introduced.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama told FBC News that this is a draft decision as more talks are expected to take place before a final agreement will be agreed to.

For it to take effect, all 196 individual governments in the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change will need to adopt the final document.

However one of the major hurdles includes how much wealthy countries would spend to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

A high level signature ceremony for the agreement will be conducted by the UN’s Secretary General.

The agreement will be open for signature in New York, from 22nd April 2016 to 21 April 2017.