PARIS Climate Deal:

Grants fixed in Paris Climate Change Conference:

The Obama administration struck an optimistic tone Wednesday about the Paris climate change talks.

Press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the White House sees growing evidence that negotiators will reach a deal that Obama supports.

"There is still a lot of work to be done but momentum is moving in the right direction," Earnest said.

But to meet the self-imposed Friday deadline for the deal, Earnest predicted many "sleepless nights" in the coming days.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced a plan to double climate aide to poor countries from the United States.

"We will not leave the most vulnerable nations among us to, quite literally, weather the storm alone," Kerry said in Paris.

Under the plan, the United States will spend about $860 million a year toward climate grants for developing countries by 2020.

His speech came the same day that negotiators released their latest working draft of the agreement, which leaders believe can be made final by Friday.

But House Democrats and Republicans decided to scuttle plans Wednesday to drop into the talks later this week, citing the ongoing negotiations for a government spending bill and the prospect for congressional work over the weekend, though that has now faded.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had been planning to bring some Democrats to Paris, and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) would have brought Republicans.

But Congress isn't being left completely out of the Paris talks, since 10 Senate Democrats visited last weekend.

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News Edited By:

KANWAL ABIDI

         *Political Analyst & Journalist

063 News (Global Press Agency)