The UN climate talks on Sunday offered a glimmer of hope and “solidarity” to developing countries grappling with the increasingly costly effects of global warming by agreeing to discuss the thorny issue of “loss and damage” funds.

Countries least responsible for geothermal emissions — but hardest hit by an onslaught of extreme weather — have increased pressure on wealthy polluting nations to provide financial aid to accelerate damage.

But in a sign of how contentious the issue is among wealthier nations who fear indefinite climate liability, the issue was only put on the formal agenda of the UN climate summit COP27 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after two days of final negotiations.

This “reflects a sense of solidarity and empathy for the suffering of victims of climate-related disasters,” said Egyptian COP27 President Sameh Shoukry to applause.

At last year’s UN summit in Glasgow, the European Union and the United States rejected calls for a separate funding mechanism.

Instead, negotiators agreed to begin a “dialogue” on financial compensation that would last until 2024.

The issue has become increasingly urgent in recent months as nations have been hit by a crescendo of disasters, such as the massive floods that inundated a third of Pakistan in August.

Senegal’s Madeleine Diouf Sarr, who represents the least developed country negotiating bloc, said climate action across the board was far too slow.

“Lives are lost. Climate change is causing irreversible loss and damage, and our people are bearing the greatest cost,” she said, adding that financing arrangements needed to be reached in Egypt.

Appeals for more money are supported by a field called event attribution science, which now makes it possible to measure how much global warming increases the likelihood or intensity of a single hurricane, heat wave, drought, or heavy rain event.

“Today, countries have cleared a historic first hurdle in acknowledging and responding to the call for funding to deal with increasingly severe losses and damages,” said Ani Dasgupta, director of the World Resources Institute, a climate policy think tank.

However, he said it was only a first step in getting negotiators to agree to discuss the issue.

“We still have a marathon to go before countries iron out a formal decision on this key issue for CO27,” he said.

The dispute over loss and damage has unfolded amid an unfulfilled pledge by rich nations to allocate $100 billion annually from 2020 to help developing countries green their economies and anticipate future impacts, according to the UN climate jargon is called “adaptation”.

That funding goal is still $17 billion short. Rich nations have pledged to meet the target by the end of 2023, but observers say the issue has seriously eroded confidence.

The UN Environment Program has said the target – first set in 2009 – has not kept pace with reality, and estimates the means to build resilience to future climate threats should be up to 10 times greater.

Meanwhile, countries are far from meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The UN says the world is now on course for 2.8°C warming, or a still catastrophic 2.4°C even if all national pledges under the Paris Agreement are met.

Depending on how much CO2 pollution is cut worldwide, losses and damage from climate change could cost developing countries $290 billion to $580 billion annually by 2030 and reach $1 trillion to $1.8 trillion by 2050, Grantham said Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London.

The World Bank estimates that the floods in Pakistan alone have caused $30 billion in damage and economic loss. Millions of people were displaced and two million homes were destroyed.

Simon Stiell, the United Nations executive secretary on climate change, said vulnerable countries are “tired” and “frustrated”.

“Here in Sharm el-Sheikh, we have a duty to accelerate our international efforts and walk the talk to keep up with their lived experiences,” he said.

So far, poor countries have had little influence in the UN battle for money. But as climate damage multiplies, patience is waning.

The AOSIS small island nation negotiating bloc told AFP they would like to see the details of a special loss and damage fund finalized within a year.

“There is not enough support for us to even begin to prepare for the losses and damages that we face,” said AOSIS climate finance negotiator Michai Robertson.