"As mid-year online climate talks end, officials admit there is still much work for November's COP26 summit to succeed amid concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations for delegates"

"KUALA LUMPUR - The United Nations climate chief said on Thursday a "significant amount of work" remains to be done ahead of November's COP26 summit in Britain, with developing nations warning issues of finance and vaccine inequity could derail a successful outcome.

At the end of three weeks of mid-year climate talks, held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patricia Espinosa called on countries to overcome their differences and work together in the remaining months before the key COP26 negotiations in Glasgow.

She said governments had "engaged effectively", despite the challenges of virtual working, and made advances in several areas, including common time-frames for emissions-cutting goals and transparency in how countries report their climate action."

Beh Lih Yi reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation June 17, 2021. [2]