First, the implementation of what's known as the paris agreement now in 2015 countries agreed to try to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Second, we have action on loss and damage that's developed nations finding ways to compensate and assist developing nations following decades of environmental damage.

And thirdly, well, there is a promise to be more transparent about the process.

Rich countries will also outline how they plan to reduce their carbon emissions with countries most affected by rising temperatures describing how climate change is impacting them.

The BBC's climate editor, Justin Rowland has our first report from Sharm el Sheikh.

You don't have to go far from the coast in Egypt to find vivid evidence of what's at stake.

The Red Sea is home to some of the most magnificent and biodiverse coral reefs in the world, but coral is incredibly vulnerable to climate change.

Scientists say virtually all the world's coral reefs could be gone by the end of the century, possibly sooner now think what that means?

An ecosystem that's taken hundreds of millions of years to evolve, gone forever.

Rishi soon arrived in Egypt last night.

These talks are reckoned to be the world's best hope of tackling climate change.

The british Prime Minister will be announcing millions of pounds of funding for clean energy and forest protection today, he'll say the U.

K is steadfast in its support of countries on the front line of climate change.

It's been another year of climate-related extreme weather, terrible floods, left a third of Pakistan underwater.

For example another year of drought pushed 40 million people in East Africa closer to famine.

Developing nations are demanding not just millions but hundreds of billions of pounds of assistance from the rich world Nicola sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister will also be in Egypt today.

She played a key role in the last U.

N.

Climate talks in Glasgow and says it is time rich countries coughed up the cash they promised to help the developing world rise to the climate challenge.

One bit of good news though the Egyptian reefs are particularly resistant to marine heating according to local scientists.

The negotiators here will need to summon similar reserves of resilience if progress is going to be made at the conference Justin Rowland BBC News Sharm El Sheikh.

Egypt.

Well joining us now is Hodgett Singh who is head of the global political strategy at the Climate Action Network, a global network of civil society groups in 130 countries.

Great to have you with us Hodgett.

I want to start off first with what you think we achieved following cop 26.

Let's start there.

Thank you very much for having me.

I think it's a very difficult question because we have gone really backwards when it comes to climate action.

We have seen countries moving away from climate targets and investing more in fossil fuels and we know that fossil fuels are primarily responsible for the climate crisis and not just that health and energy crisis that we are facing right now.

So there's a lot of backsliding we have seen from rich countries particularly Dash for gas in africa.

And we've also seen that these countries have not met their commitment of providing climate finance.

So they have again not met their target of providing $100 billion a year.

And we have seen on loss and damage some progress just yesterday, it has been agreed that we will be discussing loss and damage finance.

It has happened after years of fight to put it on the agenda.

Uh That's the only little positive thing that I see on everything else.

We are going backwards, loss and damage.

How is that defined what what's the criteria for that?

So the impacts that we are facing right now, intensifying floods, storms and rising seas have been caused by decades of fossil fuel emissions.

And there has not been any process in the system under climate change U.

N.

System to provide support to people who are already suffering from the impacts they are losing their home farms and income yet not a single penny has been provided to them to recover from these impacts.

And that's what we call addressing loss and damage.

So the system has failed so far.

And now the discussions will begin on how to provide support to those people.

How would you suggest we do start to provide support?

I think the very first thing is to agree that a new stream of finance has to be established at cop 27 yesterday when the agenda was agreed, it was decided that no later than 2024 we need to have a conclusive decision Now what does that mean?

It means that we need to have an agreement and that's what we as climate action network are demanding that we should agree on setting up a new fund here and then the next two years we can work towards operational izing that finance Because as these people around the world such as who have lost their homes to floods in Pakistan or people who are facing famine in Somalia.

They are not getting adequate support.

So they need to see hope coming from top 27 and that's what the role of leaders who are coming here.

Do you think that the right people are the ones that are sitting around that table?

Yes.

We're watching the leaders, they hold it well actually, is it them that hold the purse strings or is it big business are the right people sitting around the table.

We have governments who will decide when we talk about the U.

N.

Space.

It's the responsibility of governments.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Big businesses must pay and they are the big polluters.

We know that 100 companies are responsible for more than 70% of a cumulative emissions.

But who will tax these these companies, its governments, they have to be bold enough.

They have to show that courage.

But right now we see that they are in bed with these companies and that's why fossil fuel companies are making money while people, ordinary people are suffering from the energy crisis, from the climate crisis.

So governments have a decisive role To penalize and tax these big companies so that people who are facing several crisis can be supported.

So we cannot just expect private companies to you know, come up with a solution on their own.

They have not over the last 30 years, it's governments who will make that happen.

We know that this is a long time, a long term plan.

Or is it I mean, we're hearing a lot about, we are running running out of time, running out of time.

Whereas we talk about the leaders and their political lifespan is relatively short.

What's the incentive to get them to act well instead of incentive?

I would say we need pressure from people on ground citizens have to hold their leaders to account.

We cannot just see them paying lip service.

And if I talk about U.

K.

That was claiming to be the Climate Leader, we have seen UK backsliding and awarding 100 life two companies to extract oil and gas.

On one hand, we allow leaders to make tall claims and on the other hand, they continue to extract oil and gas.

So we cannot allow that to happen.

We have to call their bluff, we have to call them out.

So citizens have a particular role in holding them to account and Hodgett.

We talk a lot about developed nations taking the biggest action.

What about developing actions?

Is it fair to just say, you know, you need to, to pay us to take action.

Don't they have their own role to play?

Absolutely.

Um, they also have to change their policies.

They have to do their best to implement and make sure that uh, the resources that are provided are helping people who are facing a crisis and also going towards green energy.

But let's also understand when we Talk about rich countries to pay.

We are talking about a global justice.

The crisis that we are facing right now has been caused by 150 years of greenhouse-gas emissions being put into the atmosphere.

So developing countries need support to make that transition and it will not only require billions but trillions of dollars report that came out just a few days ago said we will be needing 4 to $6 trillion a year to transition to a low carbon economy.

So we need to make sure that those resources are available and good governance system in developing countries must be ensured through strong society and media so that they are held to account as well and they support their citizens.

Okay, thank you very much for your time this morning here on BBC news.

Hadji is the head of global political strategy at climate action network, international.

And the reason we're speaking to him is because of what you can see on your screen at the moment.

Some of the world leaders who are attending cop 27 in Egypt that is in Sharm el Sheikh a you can see they are just gathering On the stage there for what is referred to as the family photo.

The pressure is on really that 1.5 magic figure Is what people are talking about.

A number of African and developing nations.

I believe that is Prime Minister Mottley.

We have kind of dilemma of India of Zambia.

We also have a number of Arab nations there on on the stage.

So this is the cop 27 climate conference kicking off in Egypt at the moment.

Mr Rutter there also on the stage, the family photo before some of the heavy negotiations start to take place.

Boris johnson, the former UK prime Minister is also there but a lot of controversy.

A lot of discussion around the attendance of the current Prime Minister Rishi son Aku initially said that he wasn't going to attend, but now is attending that climate conference in Egypt the key of course to try and tackle the climate, the climate crisis that is facing the world, a lot of discussion over loss and damage how to release those finances?

I think that is Rwanda's leader there, just to the bottom.

Mr uh there we go, Mr Ramaphosa, we have Mr Ramaphosa, South Africa, we have Admin and Zimbabwe, where um also uh there, um and a number of other key players in those discussions in in Sharm el Sheikh.

Well, we've been speaking to a number of Voices here on BBC News.

Sir, David King is one of them.

Now.

He served as the government's permanent special representative for climate change between 2013 and 17, he spoke to me earlier about why he believes the developed world isn't doing nearly enough at the moment.

We are way behind where we ought to be.

Not.

One country is doing nearly enough.

The Climate Crisis advisory group that I chair is producing four country reports on the key countries in the debate at the moment, and not one of those countries is doing nearly enough.

So, I think the point I'm making is if we want a manageable future for humanity, which surely we do, we need to understand the nature of the crisis we're in.

Well, we'll get to that in a moment.

First off, I wonder if I could just go back one stage, Why are we not doing enough?

We're not doing enough for various reasons.

One is we have failed to have since 1992 leadership from the United States and the United States is normally the country, we would all turn to for leadership on an issue like this, Why has the United States failed the world?

The power of the fossil fuel lobby?

It's as simple as that.

We all know how powerful the lobby systems are in the US democratic system, the gun lobby and so on.

And the most powerful lobby of all is the fossil fuel lobby and senators and congressmen are really virtually and in reality in the pockets of these lobbies.

So I think we We have failed to get that sort of leadership Britain provided leadership under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Very open leadership from 1997 until about 2010 and then subsequently under David Cameron and Theresa May, we continued the good work that was begun.

But since then we have been slipping back and we're talking now the absurdity of opening up new oil and gas wells in the North Sea absurd because this does nothing to do with the crisis in the Ukraine.

It would take at least 10 years before any new oil or gas reached the marketplace and that therefore since the war in Ukraine is sure to be over by then we will be left saddled with an investment that will not produce results.

So I think what, what we see is this sudden return to looking for more coal oil and gas around the world.

It's not just Britain.

And so the day that, excuse me if, if I come across as rude, but we seem to be hearing the same thing over and over again and there doesn't seem to be any real progress, I'm afraid you're right.

You're not being rude at all.

And nor is gutter as being rude.

We we Have failed to respond.

Just let's remember since 1992, we've been discussing at cop meetings, progress on managing this climate change disaster.

Now, at first it wasn't a disaster.

And if we'd have operated quickly and got in place, everything we needed to buy 2000, we would not be in the straits we're in now.

So 2015, we finally reached an agreement in Paris and that agreement said, we must stay below 1.5° above the pre industrial level, as you were saying.

But what are the chances of that today?

Well, we're now at over 1.3 degrees centigrade above the pre industrial level.

And we're rapidly approaching the 1.5 David King speaking to me earlier regarding what needs to be done to move forward regarding the climate change crisis.

More on this as and when it takes place, leaders currently gathering for the family photo before the heavy discussions begin in Sharm El Sheikh.