This is the week of compromise. That’s the message from EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete as the Paris climate change talks enter their final week. More than 190 nations have gathered in the French capital to negotiate a new global climate change agreement and, despite pledges to cut emissions made ahead of the summit by many countries, Commissioner Arias Canete added that it will be a “difficult week” because the most controversial political compromises have been left until the last minute.

There are several sticking points to any deal: poorer countries believe that richer countries should pay more because they were historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, while developed countries argue that the world has changed since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 and that many so-called ‘developing’ countries are now wealthy enough to shoulder more of the burden.

But should a legally-binding agreement be considered the measure of success in Paris? The Kyoto Protocol was legally-binding, but nevertheless failed to deliver substantial change: the US signed but didn’t ratify Kyoto, Canada pulled out in 2012 when it was clear it would miss its targets, and the EU only hit its targets because the Eurozone crisis blunted its economic growth.

Today, some countries are pushing for a largely non-legally-binding framework. US President Barack Obama, for example, believes it is the only way for the US to take action without the approval of a Republican-controlled Congress that is fiercely hostile to any agreement. Could a non-legally-binding agreement actually have a greater chance of success? Or will it be a waste of time, convincing the public that meaningful action is being taken while the climate steadily warms regardless?

On the road to Paris 2015, Debating Europe, in partnership with Friends of Europe, will be inviting policymakers and experts to respond to YOUR questions on climate change as part of a series of debates.

Do you need some of the facts about the numbers involved? We’ve collected information on climate change in the infographic below (click for a bigger image).

Will the Paris climate change summit be a failure if it doesn’t produce a legally-binding agreement? Or is a voluntary agreement the only way to get all nations (including the largest polluters – China and the USA) on board? Negotiators have until the end of this week to finalise the deal, the details of which have been under negotiation for the last four years.