Climate crisis takes centre stage at G20 summit in Brazil

The climate crisis and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East took centre stage on the first day of the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday.

In a joint statement, leaders from the group of major economies highlighted the suffering of people in Gaza and Ukraine, and called for cooperation on poverty reduction, tax policy, and climate change.

The UN climate chief, Simon Stiell on Saturday had implored G20 leaders to help break a  deadlock in climate financing negotiations at the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan.

The climate summit aims to reach an agreement to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars in climate adaptation and mitigation funding for developing countries.

It is the major economies, responsible for more than three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, who hold the purse strings.

The G20 statement on Monday did call for "rapidly and substantially increasing climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources".

But while they agreed that COP negotiators should reach a deal on a new finance goal for how much money rich nations must pay, they did not say what the solution should be.

Developed countries have argued that the contributor base needs to be expanded to include richer developing nations like China and richer Middle Eastern countries.

On Tuesday, G20 leaders are expected to discuss sustainable development and the transition to cleaner energy.

They are seeking to shore up efforts to fight global warming before Donald Trump assumes presidency of the United States.

He has threatened to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and roll back Washington’s climate legislation.