Flags fly Wednesday near the venue of the COP29 UN climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. REUTERS

Negotiators in the deadlocked UN climate talks said Wednesday that rich countries have been asked to commit up to $900 billion a year to help poorer countries take action against global warming. climatic.

Two days before the COP29 conference in Azerbaijan, countries are scrambling to iron out their differences over money seen as crucial for the world to reduce the planet’s heat emissions.

Developing countries, which are least responsible for global emissions, say rich historical polluters have a duty to help finance their ecological transition and the devastating impacts of climate change.

While developed countries have yet to present figures, some developing countries have called for $1.3 trillion in annual funds.

Rich countries, which face tighter budgets and political pressure at home, insist that any commitment must also include loans and private money.

They also want countries like China and Saudi Arabia, which have become rich but are still listed as developing countries, to contribute to climate finance.

Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen, one of two envoys mediating the financial negotiations, said three different figures were being proposed for the money that would come from developed country budgets: $440 billion, $600 billion and 900 billion dollars.

“Many parties have told us that they need to see some basic elements in place before they can propose the number that they are suggesting,” Bowen told COP29 delegates.

Delegates from several countries told AFP that these figures were not proposed by developed countries.

Bowen said some countries had drawn a “red line” over the type of money, insisting it came from “a wide range of sources and instruments”.