Delegates from across the world gathered for the Dec. 7-19 meeting to try to hammer out a new deal for nature: a 10-year framework aimed at saving the planet's forests, oceans and species before it's too late.

"With our bottomless appetite for unchecked and unequal economic growth, humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction," UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday at a ceremony ahead of talks.

Before he took the dais, a group of around half a dozen indigenous protesters interrupted a speech by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a sign of the passions inflamed by biodiversity loss among the most impacted communities.

The official opening of the meeting, known as COP15, follows several days of pre-negotiations that saw very little progress on key issues, sparking fears parties may walk away without a good deal.

Observers called for negotiators to urgently unblock sticking points on difficult items like finance and implementation, with only five out of more than 20 targets agreed so far.

The summit "is probably the last best chance for governments to turn things around for nature, and to rescue our precious life support system," Bernadette Fischler Hooper, head of international advocacy at the WWF, told reporters Tuesday.

Popular

Govt banks on Rp 500t inflows to international financial center

When prosecutors become prosecuted

No short-cut for 100 GW renewable ambition