Two groups – the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries – have thrown down the gauntlet at a meeting. They’ve now said they want a guaranteed 30% of climate finance, and then walked out of meeting room three.

Speaking with journalists after walking out, representatives from Sierra Leone and Samoa expressed their frustrations with talks. “We have just walked out. We came to this Cop for a fair deal. We feel that we haven’t been heard and there is a deal to be made. We are not being consulted. That’s why we are here but we are here to negotiate. We walked out because at the moment, we don’t feel that we are being heard,” said the representative from Samoa.

“We are the countries that are probably the most affected by climate change. Our countries have not contributed a lot but we are affected. That’s why we are here to negotiate on behalf of our countries. We’ve made our needs and wants known. We are being ignored. That’s why we’ve walked out,” said the representative from Sierra Leone.

“What has happened here today is that the moral compass of the world, the most vulnerable countries, have walked out of the negotiations after they failed to honour the promises they had made to provide climate finance. The rich world has refused to honour their obligations.”

“As a result the Least Developed Countries and the Alliance of Small Island States have walked out of the negotiations and say they cannot associate themselves with the draft which was put forward by the presidency.”