Backchannel climate meetings in Paris could decide the fate of the world

Meetings of climate negotiators in 'informal informals' - small ad hoc groups talking outside of official sessions - could be key to reaching Paris agreement

In huddles in corners, sitting on the floor in corridors, crowded around smartphones at cafe tables around the sprawling conference centre in Paris where crunch climate change talks are ongoing, a new form of meeting is taking place.

These are the "informal informals" - groups of negotiators meeting outside the conventional apparatus of plenary sessions in large halls in order to facilitate a deal.