France, Nov. 12 -- The first day of talks at the summit saw friction between the two sides, as the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) sought a dedicated slot on the issue. The group has been pressing for this since the climate talks held in Bonn, Germany, in June.

The proposal failed to reach consensus at Monday's opening session, and Cop31 president Murat Kurum ruled that it could instead be discussed under existing agenda items.

The European Union had signalled before the summit that it would not accept a separate agenda item on the issue, according to Agence Europe. After the African Group's request, the EU and the United Kingdom took the floor to restate the climate finance commitments they had already made.

As a result, there will...