Angela Merkel: German chancellor says climate deal needs binding reviews

The legal form of a Paris agreement on climate change is contested as the U.S. Congress would be expected to block any binding deal, but the European Union is pressing hard for mandatory targets.

Paris climate talks need to agree on a binding U.N. framework, complemented by binding reviews to ensure progress to limit global warming, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.

The legal form of a Paris agreement on climate change is contested as the U.S. Congress would be expected to block any binding deal, but the European Union is pressing hard for mandatory targets.

Merkel said the aim at a summit in Paris was "a binding U.N. framework" and a binding review mechanism to close a gap between the impact on global warming of already promised measures and the work required to limit rising temperatures.