Negotiations over a new climate deal continued into Friday night in Qatar as countries had yet to rescue the Kyoto Protocol, make commitments to help nations already suffering from global warming or propose a structure for a new worldwide agreement.

Like past talks, the negotiations looked set to last for most of Saturday. Also like past talks, many delegates remained oddly hopeful that a deal could be reached. “We have worked without a break and people realize we need to go home with something,” one delegate told The Guardian.

The European Union was understood to have floated a Saturday afternoon deadline for a final agreement. Observers thought this was unlikely, as no deadlines set in the final days of the Qatari talks have been met.

Some attendants criticized the Qatari hosts for failing to maintain order and focus in the process, particularly in the task of overseeing the writing of draft texts. “There’s a cultural mismatch between the Qatari team and this process,” said Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They think deal-making is beneath them. They are not managing very well.”

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.