Breakthrough in G-20 talks on climate finance, say sources

Diplomatic tensions over global warming spilt over into the Group of 20 (G-20) summit negotiations in Brazil this week, with sources saying the 20 major economies reached a fragile consensus on climate finance that had eluded UN talks in Azerbaijan.

Heads of state arrived in Rio de Ianeiro on Nov 17 for the G-20 summit and will on Nov 18 and 19 address issues, from poverty to hunger to the reform of global institutions. The talks must now also grapple with how to address escalating violence in Ukraine after a deadly Russian air strike on Nov 17.

Still, the ongoing United Nations climate talks have thrown a spotlight on their efforts to tackle global warming.

While the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is tasked with agreeing on a goal to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars for climate change, leaders of the G-20 major economies half a world away in Rio are holding the purse strings.

G-20 countries account for 85 per cent of the world's economy and are the largest contributors to multilateral development banks helping to steer climate finance.

"The spotlight is naturally on the G-20. They account for 80 per cent of global emissions," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. He expressed concern about the state of the COP29 talks in Baku, and called on G-20 leaders to do more to fight climate change.