Nations near first steps in treaty at climate talks

Envoys at this week’s climate talks in Warsaw, Poland, are close to agreeing on the first steps for the next treaty aimed at combating global warming, Bloomberg reports.

The talks are set to wrap up Friday and delegates plan to make progress on a “loss and damage” strategy that will help those recovering from storms, floods, and erosion brought on by rising sea levels and higher temperatures, said Christiana Figueres, the United Nations diplomat organizing the meeting.

{mosads}”They’ll have an agreement,” said Jake Schmidt, who’s observing the talks in Warsaw for the U.S. environmental research group the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“It’s tricky because everyone’s economy is based on energy, and there’s a lot of mistrust between countries. But if they hold grudges, the planet suffers.”

Tensions ran high during the talks between richer nations and poorer ones on who should take the blame for global warming and who should provide compensation if at all.