Nations most threatened by rising sea levels and devastating droughts will use a UN summit in Poland on Monday to urge richer countries to pay their fair share in the climate change fight.
The presidents of at-risk states such as Fiji, Nigeria and Nepal are expected at COP24 talks, which aim to flesh out the promises agreed in the 2015 Paris climate accord.
But host Poland -- heavily reliant on energy from coal -- will push its own agenda: a "just transition" from fossil fuels that critics say could allow it to continue polluting for decades.
The Paris deal saw nations agree to limit global temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) and under 1.5C if possible.
Delegates from nearly 200 countries now have two weeks of negotiations to finalise how those goals work in practice, even as science suggests the pace of climate change is rapidly outstripping mankind's response. AFP