SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Countries agreed early today at the COP27 climate summit to set up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters, but paused before backing a wider deal outlining global resolve to fight climate change.

After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian COP27 presidency released a text of the draft agreement – and simultaneously called a plenary session to gavel it through as a final, overarching agreement.

The session approved the text’s provision to set up a “loss and damage” fund to help developing countries bear the immediate costs of climate-fuelled events such as storms and floods.

But immediately after, Switzerland called for a 30-minute suspension to allow time to study the new text.

Negotiators earlier had expressed worry about changes being negotiated and written so late in the process.