The world’s poor nations have had a major breakthrough against the rich after an “extremely challenging” discussion on one of the most contentious issues at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

For the first time, delegates agreed to put the issue of whether rich nations should financially compensate poor countries for the impacts of climate change on the agenda.

The ABC reports Australia spoke in favour of the move which was debated during late-night discussions and against a backdrop of dire warnings for the planet.

Envoys from around the globe have gathered in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on tackling climate change.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is not attending but has sent a delegation of senior ministers including Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy who will lead the first weeks.

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The opening summit heard that the planet was “sending a distress signal” after a new UN report released on Sunday warned the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record.

In a video message, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the State of the Global Climate Report 2022 was a “chronicle of climate chaos” with drastic predictions on sea level rises, melting ice and heatwaves.

Tweet from @antonioguterres

Push for ‘loss and damages’

Poor countries say they have been bearing the brunt of the changing climate’s impact which they blame on wealthy nations.

But for more than a decade, the rich have rejected official discussions on what is referred to as “loss and damage”, or funds they provide to help poor countries cope with the consequences of global warming.

At COP26 last year in Glasgow, high-income countries blocked a proposal for a loss and damage financing body, instead supporting a three-year dialogue for funding discussions.

The loss and damage discussions now on the COP27 agenda will not guarantee compensation or necessarily acknowledge liability, but are intended to lead to a conclusive decision “no later than 2024”, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said.

The issue could generate even more tension than at previous conferences as the Ukraine war, a surge in energy prices and the risk of economic recession have at once added to governments’ reluctance to promise funds and poor countries’ need for them.

Negotiations on Saturday night (local time) before the agenda’s adoption “were extremely challenging,” Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at the non-profit Climate Action Network International, said.

“Rich countries in the first place never wanted loss and damage to be on the agenda.”

COP27 President Sameh Shoukry opens the summit in Egypt. Photo: Getty

Some criticised the dismissive language on liability but although weaker than hoped, getting the issue formally on the agenda will oblige wealthier countries to engage on the topic.

“They rightly expect more solidarity from the rich countries, and Germany is ready for this, both in climate financing and in dealing with damage and losses,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.

Germany wants to launch a “protective shield against climate risks” at the conference, an initiative it has been working on with vulnerable states such as Bangladesh and Ghana.

Bangladeshi-based environmental research body, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development said it was “good news” loss and damage was officially on the agenda.

“Now the real work begins to make finance a reality,” Salmeel Huq, director of the centre, said.

Tweet from @COP26

More than 40,000 participants have been registered for this year’s talks, reflecting the sense of urgency as major weather events around the world impact many people and cost billions of dollars in repairs.

Egypt said more than 120 world leaders will attend, many of them speaking at a high-level event on November 7-8, while US President Joe Biden was expected to arrive later in the week.

But many top figures including China’s President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India were not planning to come, casting doubt on any major deals to cut emissions without two of the world’s biggest polluters.

The outgoing chair of the talks, British official Alok Sharma, said progress from Glasgow, including setting more ambitious targets for cutting emissions, were being “buffeted by global headwinds”.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s brutal and illegal war in Ukraine has precipitated multiple global crisis, energy and food insecurity, inflationary pressures and spiralling debt,” Mr Sharma said.

“These crises have compounded existing climate vulnerabilities and the scarring effects of the pandemic.”

His successor, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, said his office would “spare no effort” to achieve the goals of the Paris accord.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi wrote on Twitter that Egypt, as host country, was seeking to move from the “pledges phase to the implementation phase with concrete measures on the ground”.

-with AAP