French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius released a new text late Thursday that narrowed gaps and eliminated many options. The ingredients for the deal are there, leaving only the question of how much political will remains. Everyone will have to compromise.

"This is a gut check moment: negotiators must be ready to go further than ever before to enter into a new form of international cooperation," said Jennifer Morgan, global director of the climate change program at the World Resources Institute in Washington.

Deadline for a deal is 6 p.m. Paris time on Friday, though negotiations are expected to drag into the weekend as rich and poor nations seek to bridge their divide.