“There is currently no single alternative to fossil fuel supply.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also warned that countries “cannot drag ourselves into industrial oblivion”.

These views contrasted sharply with those of countries beset by climate disasters and rising sea levels.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Penitala Teo insisted there was “no time to waste” for Pacific island nations like his.

He called on countries to “send a clear signal that the world is phasing out fossil fuels immediately.”

– Money fight –

As leaders spoke, negotiators released a draft new finance deal that includes a range of options to boost financing but leaves behind unresolved sticking points that have long delayed the deal.

Most developing countries support rich countries committing at least $1.3 trillion annually.

That’s more than 10 times the $100 billion paid annually by a small pool of developed countries, including the United States, the EU and Japan.

Some donors have been reluctant to pledge large amounts of public money from their budgets at a time when they face economic and political pressure at home.

Instead, they want to promise to mobilize the private sector, an option that NGOs describe as “wishful thinking.”

“They always like to see the private sector as the magic money tree,” said Debbie Hillier, global climate policy leader for Mercy Corps.

US climate envoy John Podesta said the agreement should include “new contributors” (code for China, which does not qualify as a developed country despite being the world’s second-largest economy and biggest polluter).

Developing countries, already buried under debt, are seeking new aid in the form of grants rather than loans.

Philip Davis, prime minister of the Bahamas, which is vulnerable to hurricanes, said the small island nation was spending 18 times more on debt repayments than they received in climate finance.

“The world found the ability to finance wars and mobilize against epidemics,” Davis said.

“But when it comes to the deepest crisis of our time: the survival of nations, where is that same talent?”

by Laurent Thomet and Nick Perry