Pledges made so far at the COP28 climate talks

PARIS, France — The COP28 climate talks in Dubai have seen a flurry of announcements promising action on global warming, led by its big-spending, oil-rich host the United Arab Emirates.

The first five days of the negotiations mobilised over $83 billion dollars and saw 11 pledges and declarations for climate action, the COP28 presidency said Friday.

But observers have warned that the headline-grabbing promises could distract from the real battles on fossil fuels and negotiating a formal COP28 deal.

As pressure builds in talks held during the hottest year on record, here are some of the developments so far.

Day one of the meeting saw the launch of a landmark "loss and damage" fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the increasingly costly and damaging impacts of climate disasters.

The UAE and Germany pledged $100 million each and France $109 million, along with $50 million from Britain, $25 million from Denmark and $17.5 million from the United States, the world's biggest historical polluter.

Campaigners said the US offering was woefully inadequate.

The total committed as of Friday was around $726 million, according to the COP28 presidency.

That still falls short of the $100 billion a year that developing nations -- which have historically been the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions -- have said is needed to cover losses from natural disasters and rising seas.

Meanwhile, the Green Climate Fund, focussed on support developing countries in their climate action, saw a boost of $3.5 billion to its second replenishment, with a $3 billion promise from the United States. Other new pledges for the GCF at COP28 were from Australia, Estonia, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland.

At least 128 countries had by Friday committed to tripling renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements.

G20 nations, which account for nearly 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, paved the way for a deal when they endorsed the renewable energy goal in September. 

Supporters want the pledge to be included in the final outcome of the talks and it currently appears in a draft published on Friday, which is still subject