Grim Backdrop For U.N. Climate Talks

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Envoys from around the globe gathered Sunday in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on tackling climate change amid a multitude of competing crises. Negotiators spent a frantic two days ahead of the meeting discussing whether to formally consider the issue of loss and damage suffered by vulnerable nations due to climate change. The issue, which has weighed on the talks for years, was agreed just hours before the meeting offically opened. In an opening speech, the head of the U.N.’s panel of climate scientist highlighted the urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of global warming. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said his country wants the talks to move from the “pledges phase to the implantation phase.”