Negotiators seek to break impasse

Negotiators yesterday sought to break a deadlock at UN climate talks after G20 leaders backed the need for "trillions" of dollars for poorer countries but left key sticking points unresolved.

Ministers at the COP29 conference in Azerbaijan had been eagerly waiting for the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro to issue a declaration that might jump-start the stalled negotiations.

While the lack of a phrase calling for "transitioning away from fossil fuels" disappointed activists, the statement on climate finance was cautiously welcomed at the sports stadium hosting the talks.

"G20 delegations now have their marching orders for here in Baku," UN climate chief Simon Stiell said in a statement.

"We urgently need all nations to bypass the posturing and move swiftly towards common ground, across all issues," he said.

Rich nations are being urged to significantly raise their pledge of $100 billion a year in financing for poorer countries to take action against climate change.

But efforts to finalise the deal in Baku are hampered by disputes over how much the deal should entail, who should pay it, and what types of financing should be included.

The chair of the G77+China, a grouping of developing nations, told AFP that the Rio statement was a "good building block" for the climate talks as G20 leaders acknowledged that the needs were in the "trillions" of dollars.