Countries lock horns over cash for nature at rebooted UN talks

Climate activists stage a protest to demand a phase-out of fossil fuels during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on November 15, 2024. [AFP]

The world's biggest nature conservation conference will restart on Tuesday after negotiations collapsed in disarray last year, with the head of the meeting warning that increasing global "polarisation" was frustrating efforts to protect the planet.

More than two years after a landmark deal on nature -- including a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world's land and seas by 2030 -- nations continue to haggle over the money needed to reverse destruction that scientists say threatens a million species.