"U.N. Climate Talks Begin Divided, But With Hope for Paris Accord"

"BONN -- Chances that governments will work out a U.N. accord to combat climate change in December seem brighter than in the run-up to a failed attempt in 2009, experts said as delegates from almost 200 nations met on Monday, hoping to bridge deep divisions.

Memories of a U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December 2009, when world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama failed to work out a deal intended to avert more heatwaves, floods and rising seas, hang over the talks in Bonn.

'We're closer to an agreement' than at the same time before Copenhagen, Elina Bardram, head of the European Commission delegation, told Reuters. 'But there's a lot still to be done.'

Senior government officials began five days of talks in the former West German capital aiming to cut an unwieldy 83-page draft text in the penultimate preparatory session before a Nov. 30-Dec. 11 summit in Paris."

Alister Doyle reports for Reuters August 31, 2015.