Walkouts and tensions as row over finance threatens to derail Cop15 talks

Delegates from developing nations leave discussions as divisions grow over who should pay to protect biodiversity

Divisions between developed and developing nations over who should pay to protect Earth's ecosystems are threatening to derail a UN biodiversity summit after a group of developing countries walked out of discussions overnight.

In echoes of last month's Cop27 climate summit in Egypt - where countries agreed to create a new fund to compensate loss and damage from global heating in vulnerable nations - countries from the global south left Cop15 talks on Wednesday due to disagreements over finance.