Nearly 200 nations pledge to slow global warming

LE BOURGET, France – Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Saturday, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don't.

The "Paris agreement" aims to keep global temperatures from rising another degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) between now and 2100, a key demand of poor countries ravaged by rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.

Loud applause erupted in the conference hall after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius gaveled the agreement. Some delegates wept and others embraced.

The agreement, South African Environment Minister Edna Molewa said, "can map a turning point to a better and safer world."

"This is huge," tweeted U.S. President Barack Obama. "Almost every country in the world just signed on to the #ParisAgreement on climate change - thanks to American leadership."