"What helped swing it was [US President Barack] Obama asking Congress for $60bn for the damage caused by [Hurricane] Sandy," he said.
Saleem ul-Huq, from the think-tank IIED in Bangladesh, told me the text should have been firmer, but he said: "This is a watershed in the talks. There is no turning back from this."
Nick Mabey, from the UK think-tank E3G, said: "This agreement really opens a can of worms - it might be applied to countries damming transboundary rivers, for instance. It could be very significant in future."
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Greenhouse gases
blue and white part of Earth and the blackness of space
The Earth's atmosphere contains 'greenhouse gases', such as water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane
When sunlight strikes the Earth's surface some of it is reflected back as infrared radiation
Greenhouse gases absorb some of this radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere - this is known as the greenhouse effect
Without the greenhouse effect Earth would be an extremely cold, inhospitable place
Source: BBC Science
Watch how the greenhouse effect works
No US veto
The US had been adamant that this measure would be blocked, and the EU nearly vetoed it, too.
"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil" -Ephesians (Paul)
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