"BERLIN — Officials from 40 countries met Monday in Berlin to discuss how to stay focused on fighting the increasing impacts of climate change while the world reels from the economic fallout of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.N. secretary general admonished countries to take action instead of playing a “blame game.”

European nations vowed to fulfill their climate targets even as the war in Ukraine prompts some to seek new fossil fuel sources and turn at least temporarily to coal to make up for shortfalls in Russian energy deliveries, something viewed with suspicion by developing countries.

Organizers have billed the two-day gathering in Berlin as an opportunity to rebuild trust between rich and poor nations ahead of November’s U.N. climate summit in Egypt, after technical talks last month achieved little progress on key issues such as climate aid for developing nations."

Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson report for the Associated Press July 18, 2022. [2]