Bonn climate meeting to test resolve in war against global warming

Negotiators from 200 countries meet in the German city of Bonn on Monday for talks aimed at reboosting momentum in the fight against global warming. The conference will set the stage for a United Nations climate conference to be held later this year in Egypt.

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"Climate change is not an agenda we can afford to push back on our global schedule," said outgoing UN climate change chief Patricia Espinosa ahead of the meeting.

She said it is imperative that nations arrive at the UN COP27 meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in November prepared to show they are taking "bold, concrete steps -- backed by specific plans -- to deliver the urgent and transformational climate ambition we simply must see before it's too late".

The summary to this year's landmark climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that any further delay in action "will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all".

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As things are going, the world is unlikely to be able to meet the Paris climate deal's commitment to limit warming "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

"There is this disconnect between the scientific evidence of global crisis in the making, of potentially rushing towards unmanageable climate impact, versus the lack of action," Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told the French AFP news agency.

"This is a deep worry."

The world has warmed nearly 1.2C so far -- enough to usher in a crescendo of heatwaves, floods and storm surges.

Bonn meeting on nuts and bolts

While the June 6 to 16 conference in Bonn is a largely technical meeting aimed at preparing for the autumn summit in Egypt, there are a number of key issues up for debate.

A particular focus will be funding from rich polluters to help vulnerable nations least responsible for global warming to cope with the increasingly damaging consequences.

There are growing calls for "loss and damage" funding for countries already harmed by climate change, with a specific dialogue on the subject slated for this week.

The Alliance of Small Island States has warned that the Bonn conference must not be "just another talk shop", and has called for a "clear view" on when and how emergency funding will be put in place.

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week warned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine risked slowing action to combat the climate crisis.

"But I think this war has demonstrated one thing: how fragile the world is in its dependence to fossil fuels," he added.

The invasion has prompted countries, particularly in Europe, to scramble to shore up energy supplies. It has also caused wheat and fertiliser prices to soar.

Fears of a food crisis have intensified in recent weeks, with India moving to ban wheat exports after the hottest March and April on record -- blamed largely on climate change -- hit harvests.