French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a draft climate pact hammered out after two weeks of talks in Paris was ambitious, balanced and if adopted would be an "historic turning point" to keeping temperature rises well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Cracking with emotion after talks ran into a day of over time, Fabius said the text nearly 200 governments must now endorse constituted "the best balance possible".

It seeks to keep temperature rises "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and if possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, Fabius told delegates to loud applause

Another major debate has been over a promise that developed nations should provide $100 billion to help poorer nations deal with the consequences of climate change.

Fabius said the draft text would set that figure as a floor by 2020.