Welcome back. Day one of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—or COP27, as it's popularly known—gave a number of dignitaries and national politicians the opportunity to have their say. (See below for a taste of the talks.)

Tensions are running high. Many countries are reeling from this year's destructive floods, fires, droughts and storms and developing nations have grown frustrated with another year of failed climate-funding promises. It's especially galling when developed countries did find hundreds of billions of dollars  for energy-security support measures at home and to help Ukraine. 

All signs are that negotiations will be tough and slow. It took around 40 hours over the weekend just to agree on the agenda.  

Aware of the challenges ahead, a group of more than 100 multinational companies have asked governments to be bolder in their willingness to negotiate and to provide clearer support policies and specific actions to combat climate change, writes Dieter Holger.

The so-called Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders penned a letter that outlined a list of actions that governments could undertake at COP as well as at home. The executives also challenged their peers to act by setting science-based targets, collaborating to align with goals set under the Paris Climate Agreement and helping to develop internationally harmonized climate-reporting standards.

Still, a year after COP26 where companies assumed a more prominent role in the negotiations, businesses and governments are engaged in a tango of climate action, said Renaud Guidée, chief risk officer at insurer Axa SA and chairman of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance.

Yet slow negotiations shouldn't stop companies from trying to push for action. Sheri Hinish, global leader for sustainability services, alliances and strategy at IBM Consulting said: “Business can't afford to wait, and they aren't waiting.”

The wide range of views to be reconciled at this year's conference was on display Monday. Here's a taste of some of the main talking points:

• “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned.
   
• Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore talked of a culture of death that surrounds an addiction to fossil fuels.
   
• The host of next year’s COP, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said his country would continue to be a responsible supplier of energy for as long as the world needs oil and gas.
   
• Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley outlined her Bridgetown Agenda, which has been gathering momentum around the controversial topic of funding for loss and damage. It would unlock $5 trillion of private-sector savings for a climate mitigation trust and provide some debt relief for crisis hit countries, among other things.

We're in for another round of political speeches Tuesday, including one from the leader of crisis-hit Pakistan. A glimmer of hope remains that political leaders will find a way today to provide a boost to the climate negotiations.

The proposal addresses some of the challenges of the current project-by-project approach, but using credits that offset potential carbon emissions remains controversial.

WSJ has an hour-by-hour guide on what to watch in the U.S. midterm elections. Even in Egypt, many COP27 participants worry a shift in control of one or both houses of Congress could slow funding for climate finance, clean tech and energy loans, climate justice and incentives under the recent tax-and-climate bill. Barron's Lauren Foster takes a run through how the U.S. midterm elections might add to the anti-ESG backlash or take it national.

A deep dive into how Egyptian farmers are struggling to come to terms with climate change. (WSJ) 

Climate activist Vanessa Nakate, a leading voice behind the call for loss and damage funding, explains her logic in the Guardian.

The tide could be turning against a push to approve deep-sea mining. (Bloomberg)

Poland's shift from coal could be just the boost the U.S. nuclear industry needs. (Huffpost)

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