Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - Crucial climate talks in Egypt entered their second and final week on Monday amid low expectations of clinching breakthroughs for curbing global warming.

A contentious issue at the center of the conference, known as COP27, is the payment of reparations for damage caused by climate change in less developed areas.

Delegates of the conference, underway in Egypt’s resort of Sharm el-Sheikh until Friday, have already agreed to place the issue, known as loss and damage funding, on the agenda for the first time.

Developing countries had long pressed for the creation of a financial mechanism for addressing climate-induced harms in lower-income countries.

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However, the international environment group, Greenpeace, said several wealthy countries, including the US and UK, were blocking progress at COP27 on creating a loss and damage facility.

The blockers are "consistently using delay tactics" to ensure that no agreement is reached on the issue until at least 2024, it added.

UN chief Antonio Guterres had told world leaders earlier that getting concrete results on the issue is a "litmus test" of governments’ commitment to COP27 success.

Representatives from around 200 countries are grappling at the COP27 event with how global warming can still be contained and how climate damage can be financed.

Pro-environment campaigners have ramped up pressure on negotiators to take tangible steps to fight climate change, including a halt to fossil fuel funding.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has, among other things, sent energy prices soaring, prompting several nations to reconsider their energy policies and reactivate coal-fired power plants.

COP27 is taking place following natural disasters including floods, heatwaves, and droughts, which have taken a huge toll on the lives and livelihoods of individuals across the globe.