Countries endorse UN scientific report on climate change

Governments on Sunday approved a major new UN report on climate change, stalled by a battle between rich and developing countries over emissions targets and financial aid to countries at risk.

The report, prepared by hundreds of leading scientists from around the world, was due to be adopted by government delegations on Friday after a week-long meeting in the Swiss city of Interlaken.

The deadline for the report's adoption has been repeatedly delayed, with officials from major countries such as China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and the European Union, disagreeing over the wording of key language in the report's text.

The report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) aims to be a cover for the vast amounts of research on global warming gathered since the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The summary of the report was adopted early on Sunday, but approval of the main text was delayed for several more hours as some observers feared it may need to be delayed.

The United Nations plans to release the report during a press conference early Monday afternoon.

The unusual process of obtaining state signatures on a scientific report is intended to ensure that governments accept its findings as formal advice on which to base their actions.

At the start of the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on government delegates to present "hard and concrete realities" to convey the message: there is little time left for the world to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

While average global temperatures have already risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the 1th century, Guterres insisted that the 5.<> target is still possible "with rapid and deep emissions reductions in all sectors of the global economy."