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UN chief Antonio Guterres warned world leaders at a climate summit in Egypt on Monday that humanity faces a stark choice between working together or “collective suicide” in the battle against global warming.

Nearly 100 heads of state and government are meeting for two days in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries already devastated by the effects of rising temperatures.

“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told the UN COP27 summit. 

“It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact or a Collective Suicide Pact,” Guterres said, urging richer polluting nations to come to the aid of poorer countries least responsible for the emission of heat-trapping gases.

Nations worldwide are coping with increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year alone and cost billions of dollars — from devastating floods in Nigeria and Pakistan to droughts in the United States and Africa and unprecedented heatwaves across three continents.

“We have seen one catastrophe after another,” said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “As soon as we tackle one catastrophe another one arises — wave after wave of suffering and loss.

“Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering?”

But a multitude of other crises, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic, has raised concerns that climate change will drop on the priority list of governments. 

Guterres however told world leaders climate change could not be put on the “back burner”.

He called for a “historic” deal between rich emitters and emerging economies that would see countries double down on emissions, holding the rise in temperatures to the more ambitions Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.   

Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and Earth’s surface heat up 2.8C.

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator,” Guterres said.

– ‘Moral imperative’ –

The UN secretary general said the target should be to provide renewable and affordable energy for all, calling on the United States and China in particular to lead the way.

He also said it was a “moral imperative” for richer polluters to help vulnerable countries.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose country is the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, is not attending the summit.

US President Joe Biden, whose country ranks second on the top-polluters list, will join COP27 later this week after midterm elections on Tuesday that could put Republicans hostile to international action on climate change in charge of Congress.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States, China and other non-European rich nations to “step up” their efforts to cut emissions and provide financial aid to other countries.

“Europeans are paying,” Macron told French and African climate campaigners on the sidelines of COP27. “We are the only ones paying.”

– ‘Loss and damage’ –

On Sunday, the heads of developing nations won a small victory when delegates agreed to put the controversial issue of compensation for “loss and damage” on the summit agenda.

Pakistan, which chairs the powerful G77+China negotiating bloc of more than 130 developing nations, has made the issue a priority.

The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet for years on the proposal, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.

Guterres said COP27 must agree on a “clear, time-bound roadmap” for loss and damage that delivers “effective institutional arrangements for financing”.

“Getting concrete results on loss and damage is a litmus test of the commitment of governments to the success of COP27,” he said.

Rich nations will also be expected to set a timetable for the delivery of $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies and build resilience against future climate change. 

The promise is already two years past due and remains $17 billion short, according to the OECD.

COP27 is scheduled to continue until November 18 with ministerial joining the fray during Week Two.

Security is tight at the meeting, with Human Rights Watch saying authorities have arrested dozens of people and restricted the right to demonstrate in the days leading up to COP27.

World leaders gathered Monday for climate talks in Egypt facing pressure to deepen cuts in emissions and financially back developing countries already devastated by the effects of rising temperatures.

The UN’s COP27 climate summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh comes as nations worldwide are facing increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year alone and cost billions of dollars.

At the opening ceremony on Sunday, COP27 officials urged governments to keep up efforts to combat climate change despite soaring inflation, the energy crunch linked to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the persistent Covid-19 pandemic.

“The fear is other priorities take precedence,” top United Nations climate change official Simon Stiell told a news conference.

The “fear is that we lose another day, another week, another month, another year — because we can’t”, he said.

The world must slash greenhouse emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above late-19th-century levels.

But current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and Earth’s surface heat up 2.8C, according to findings unveiled in recent days.

Only 29 of 194 countries have presented improved climate plans, as called for at the UN talks in Glasgow last year, Stiell noted.

Nearly 100 heads of state and government began to arrive for two days of talks, with the notable absence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose country is the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases.

US President Joe Biden, whose country ranks second on the top-polluters list, will join COP27 later this week after midterm elections on Tuesday that could put Republicans hostile to international action on climate change in charge of Congress.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States, China and other non-European rich nations to “step up” their efforts to cut emissions and provide financial aid to other countries.

“Europeans are paying,” Macron told French and African climate campaigners on the sidelines of COP27. “We are the only ones paying.”

– ‘Loss and damage’ –

Fresh from his own election victory, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to attend the summit later on, with hopes high that he will protect the Amazon from deforestation after defeating climate-sceptic President Jair Bolsonaro.

Another new leader, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, reversed a decision not to attend the talks and is due to urge countries to move “further and faster” in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

On Sunday, the heads of developing nations won a small victory when delegates agreed to put the controversial issue of money for “loss and damage” on the summit agenda.

Pakistan, which chairs the powerful G77+China negotiating bloc of more than 130 developing nations, has made the issue a priority.

“We definitely regard this as a success for the parties,” said Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry, who chairs the COP27.

The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet on the issue for years, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.

But European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans welcomed the inclusion of loss and damage, tweeting that the “climate crisis has impacts beyond what vulnerable countries can shoulder alone”.

– Protests restricted –

Rich nations will also be expected to set a timetable for the delivery of $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies and build resilience against future climate change. 

The promise is already two years past due and remains $17 billion short, according to the OECD.

COP27 is scheduled to continue until November 18 with ministerial meetings.

Security is tight at the meeting, with Human Rights Watch saying authorities have arrested dozens of people for calling for protests and restricted the right to demonstrate in the days leading up to COP27.

Asian stocks made gains on Monday, with a fresh rally seen in Hong Kong even after China reaffirmed its commitment to its economically painful zero-Covid policy.

Global markets and oil prices were buoyant last week on hopes that Beijing may begin to roll back policies aimed at stamping out the disease within its borders.

But on Saturday, the Chinese government said it would “unswervingly” stick to its current plan, which involves harsh lockdowns, and strict quarantine and testing regimens for even the smallest clusters of cases.

Despite the official stance, “there are still hopes in the market” that Beijing may relax Covid-19 restrictions in the coming months, Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Wholesale Banking, told AFP.

“Traders believe that the Chinese government cannot permanently hold these existing Covid measures, and therefore the only direction is… looser Covid measures,” she said.

Ongoing large-scale events, such as the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, are also seen by investors as “a kind of water-testing” by Beijing, to see if cases and deaths rise significantly, Pang added.

On Friday, Wall Street equities ended a volatile session higher after the latest US jobs data showed that hiring remained resilient and wages continued to rise, though at a slower pace.

The data, released days ahead of critical US midterm elections, raised hopes of a soft landing for the world’s biggest economy despite aggressive Fed rate hikes aimed at taming inflation.

– Vaccine ‘game-changer’ –

All three main US indexes ended around 1.3 percent higher on Friday, and Tokyo shares extended those gains, with the benchmark Nikkei index ending 1.2 percent higher on Monday.

Hong Kong shares dipped slightly at the open, then rocketed 2.7 percent at the close, adding to a jump of more than five percent in the previous session.

Bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen edged up 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. However, as European trading began, London lost 0.2 percent and Paris fell 0.7 percent.

China is the last major economy wedded to a strategy of extinguishing Covid-19 outbreaks as they emerge, despite the widespread disruption to businesses and international supply chains.

“Last week, the financial market was stirring on rumours of China reopening,” Raymond Yeung and Zhaopeng Xing of ANZ Research said in a note.

“Obviously, China feels the urgency to normalise the economy… But the political leadership will not adopt ‘living with Covid’,” the pair said.

“In our view, the availability of locally developed new vaccines will be a game-changer”.

Seoul closed up by 1.0 percent, Taipei rose 1.5 percent and Sydney ended up 0.6 percent. Jakarta added 0.8 percent and Singapore inched up 0.1 percent.

Dashed hopes of a Chinese reopening also drove down oil prices, which had rallied on Friday on the optimism that Beijing could soon change course, pushing up demand for crude.

– Key figures around 0400 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 27,527.64 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.9 percent at 16,595.91 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,077.82 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,318.61

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.1365 from $1.1309

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9930 from $0.9964

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.13 from 147.44 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.62 pence from 87.80 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $91.42 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $97.57 per barrel

New York – Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 32,403.22 (close)

The US midterm elections have been seen for much of the year as a likely landslide victory for Republicans, with President Joe Biden’s approval ratings slumping amid spiraling inflation, record migrant arrivals and rising violent crime.

The Democrats narrowed the polling gap over the summer and were hoping for a much closer contest amid a series of legislative wins and improving gas prices — but momentum appears to have swung back to the right just before the contests on November 8.   

The midterms don’t get the attention that presidential elections command, but they are crucial in determining which party has control of Congress — and the power to advance or frustrate the president’s agenda. 

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives — the lower chamber — are up for grabs, while a third of senators vie for re-election. 

The evenly divided 100-member upper chamber — controlled by Democrats thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote — is considered the more powerful and prestigious, with its statewide constituencies and six-year terms.

At least eight of the 35 Senate races are considered competitive, but the battle for control of the chamber is likely to come down to five key states. 

– Pennsylvania –

Democrat John Fetterman’s commanding lead over Republican celebrity medic Mehmet Oz has all but evaporated, turning the race into a margin-of-error tussle. 

Fetterman is recovering from a stroke in May and his shaky performance in the only debate of the campaign has further blunted his momentum.

The pair are duking it out for the seat held by a retiring Republican, in what remains Democrats’ top target for flipping a seat.

Democrats have characterized Oz as an opportunistic New Jersey carpet-bagger with tenuous local ties and a penchant for gaffes that demonstrate he is out of touch.

Fetterman, meanwhile, faces scrutiny over his health and has come under fire about his law enforcement record as lieutenant governor, which opponents say was overly lenient.

– Nevada –

In Nevada, for some time the country’s closest race, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt leads Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by a narrow 0.6 points in the polling average compiled by RealClearPolitics.

Democratic strategists have sounded the alarm over turnout, with many Latinos threatening to sit out the election despite Cortez Masto being the first-ever Latina woman elected to the US Senate.    

“It’s what’s keeping me up at night,” Melissa Morales, president of the pro-Cortez Masto Somos PAC, told NBC.

“What I’m looking at is: Do Latinos actually turn out to vote this year? If we see high turnout, we win in Nevada.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched Spanish language ad messages in the summer, again focusing on the Democratic candidate’s criminal justice record when she was the state’s attorney general.

– Georgia –

In Georgia, Republican challenger Herschel Walker was looking like the Republicans’ best bet for a pick-up against incumbent freshman Democrat and pastor Raphael Warnock.

Walker’s name recognition as a former football star has kept him in the race despite a series of missteps overshadowing his campaign, and he leads Warnock by 1.4 points in the polling average.

Warnock has focused on cutting prescription drug charges, addressing climate change and helping restore abortion rights. 

Walker has focused on the economy and hardline anti-abortion messages. 

But his campaign has been beset by allegations of past domestic abuse, an exaggerated resume, fathering children outside of his marriage and paying to have two previous girlfriends’ pregnancies terminated.

– Ohio –

The race to replace retiring Republican Rob Portman was once seen as the Democrats’ best opportunity for a pick-up, but Republican J.D. Vance has maintained a consistent if narrow lead since a faltering start to his campaign.

Democrat Tim Ryan — who has represented the Buckeye State for the last two decades in the US Congress — has won just two of 15 major polls against Silicon Valley venture capitalist and author, who holds an average two-point lead.

Economic issues top the list of voters’ concerns, as they do nationwide, with inflation and the cost of living animating Ohioans the most, followed by abortion.

“It’s much better to be a Republican candidate right now than a Democratic one,” said Brent Buchanan of polling firm Cygnal.

“Voters are looking at the issue landscape and their candidate options and prioritizing issues that directly affect them, which is driving more undecided voters to the (Republicans).”

– Wisconsin –

In Wisconsin, Republican Senator Ron Johnson struggled in the summer but pulled ahead of Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes in mid-September and is up by 3.3 points in an average of the last 16 polls.

A recent Fox News poll found that 44 percent of Wisconsin voters think Barnes’s political positions are “too extreme” — against 43 percent for Johnson. 

Like Fetterman, Barnes is a lieutenant governor who has been accused of being soft on crime, primarily because of his advocacy for making bail conditions less onerous.

“Under Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin has released 784 violent criminals back into our communities,” Johnson tweeted.

“Including 270 murders and attempted murderers. Mandela Barnes’ policies make our communities more dangerous. He is too extreme for Wisconsin.” 

Former president Barack Obama, campaigning for Barnes in the last days of the campaign, blasted Johnson as someone who “understands giving tax breaks for private planes more than he understands making sure that seniors who’ve worked all their lives are able to retire with dignity and respect.”

Two years since US President Joe Biden was swept to power in one of the most fraught elections Washington has witnessed, all eyes are on the next nationwide vote.

Biden isn’t up for re-election until 2024, but candidates vying for positions large and small — from county commissioner or tribal chief to US senator — will be sweating the outcome of the midterm elections on Tuesday. 

As Democratic and Republican nominees duke it out in the final hours of the campaign, here is a guide to what’s at stake. 

– What are the midterms? –

US voters decide every two years who gets the majority in both chambers of Congress — and whether the president will get any new policies passed or if the opposition will be able to frustrate the agenda.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot, as well as 35 of the 100 Senate seats. 

Governors’ mansions are also up for grabs in 36 states, and there are elections for state-level lawmakers, secretaries of state and attorneys general. 

Those more local contests will affect state policies on a range of issues from abortion access to voting rights and Covid-19 restrictions.

– The horse race –

In a typical midterm, the party in the White House suffers double-digit losses in the House — 26 on average since World War II — and around four Senate seats as voters seek a check on the president’s power.

For much of 2022 the traditional indicators were pointing to business as usual, with Biden’s approval rating hovering around 40 percent, the pandemic dragging into a third year and inflation at a 40-year high.

Democrats were emboldened by a summer sea-change in the political outlook, buoyed by a spate of legislative achievements, unpopular Republican curbs on abortion and falling gas prices. 

But polling is once again indicating a decisive victory for the Republicans. 

Neutral analysts expect a gain for House Republicans of 15 to 25 seats — enough to win back control of the chamber comfortably.

The Senate remains a toss-up. Analysts see a small swing to Republicans or a continued 50-50 split as the most likely outcome, meaning Democrats could keep control with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.

– Abortion and other campaign issues –

Both parties acknowledge that reproductive rights animated Democratic engagement like no other issue after the Supreme Court’s June withdrawal of the federally guaranteed right to abortion. 

Some Republicans have floated plans to consider a nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy should they retake Congress.

This is despite 85 percent of Americans believing abortion should be legal in all or some circumstances, according to a long-running survey by Gallup.

The issue’s salience has diminished since the summer, though, and it now trails behind inflation, crime and immigration among voters’ stated priorities. 

Economic issues are also a bigger factor than concerns about voting rights and democracy, according to all of the latest polling. 

Republicans are focusing on portraying Democrats as “soft on crime” in many of the tightest swing states, and are reminding voters of record immigration figures and stubbornly high inflation, despite a cooling in gas prices. 

Democrats are banking on getting credit for the White House finally clinching legislation boosting domestic manufacturing, tackling climate change and lowering prescription drug prices. 

– The Trump factor –

Like Biden, former president Donald Trump is not on the ballot but he remains a headache for Republicans — both for his mushrooming legal woes and his endorsements.

The issue that has sucked much of the oxygen out of the room in the final months is the hoard of government secrets that were found at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in a search by the FBI.

A civil investigation of his family’s finances, a criminal probe of his attempts to overturn his election defeat and the barrage of misconduct allegations from the 2021 US Capitol insurrection hearings could discourage moderate Republicans from turning out.

Meanwhile, Trump has inserted himself front and center in the election, making more than 200 endorsements, often of election conspiracy theorists and far-right candidates in swing states.

Senior Republicans have privately bemoaned the quality of Trump-backed Senate candidates in several tight races, although all remain competitive.