COP26 President Alok Sharma said there was renewed urgency in the climate debate following preparatory talks in Milan where thousands of youth activists, including Greta Thunberg, urged governments to match words with action and stump up billions of dollars to wean the world off fossil fuels.

"We had a very constructive set of discussions and there was a real sense of urgency in the room," Britain's Sharma told reporters after the meeting in Italy's financial capital.

The COP26 conference in Glasgow aims to secure bolder climate action from the nearly 200 countries that signed the 2015 Paris Agreement and agreed to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Sharma said delegates in Milan had agreed to do more to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach and deliver on a US$100 billion per year pledge to help the most vulnerable nations confront climate change.

"The energy that came forward from the [youth] did galvanize the ministers," Sharma said.

"As we go forward in the next few weeks and into the COP, we must always keep [their] voices [...] in our minds."

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