US President Joe Biden has told the COP27 climate conference in Egypt that global warming poses an existential threat to the planet and promised the United States would meet its targets for fighting it.

His speech was intended to pump up global ambition to prevent the worst of climate change, even as a slew of other crises – from a land war in Europe to rampant inflation – distract international focus.

“The climate crisis is about human security, economic security,

environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet,” Mr Biden told a crowded room of delegates at the United Nations summit in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

“I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence, the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,” he said, outlining steps being taken by the world’s second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter.

Prior to his arrival, Joe Biden’s administration unveiled a domestic plan to crack down on the US oil and gas industry’s emissions of methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases.

The move defied months of lobbying by drillers.

The US and the European Union also issued a joint declaration alongside Japan, Canada, Norway, Singapore and the United Kingdom pledging more action on oil industry methane.

That declaration was meant to build on an international deal launched last year and since signed by about 130 countries to cut economy-wide emissions 30 per cent this decade.

“Cutting methane by at least 30 per cent by 2030 can be our best chance keep within reach 1.5C,” Mr Biden said, referring to the central goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise.

Mr Biden said global crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were not an excuse to lower climate ambition.

“Against this backdrop, it’s more urgent than ever that we double down on our climate commitments. Russia’s war only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.

During his speech, Biden also promised an increase in funding to help other countries embrace the energy transition and adapt and prepare for the impacts of a warmer world.

That issue has been a sore point at the talks; wealthy countries have so far failed to fully deliver $US100 million ($A149 million) promised annually for climate adaptation.

Last year’s transfer came to only about $US83 billion.

“He announced a slew of new climate programs, but he couldn’t deliver what the developing world most wants – enough money to adapt to climate extremes,” said Alice Hill of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and a former US official under the administration of Barack Obama.

COP27 not ready to back compo fund: EU

Talks about how to compensate vulnerable countries for the damage caused by climate change are not ready to agree on a funding mechanism, a European Union negotiator says but did not exclude progress on the issue at COP27.

The topic, known as “loss and damage,” has for the first time made it to the formal agenda at the conference in Egypt in what was seen as a breakthrough for developing countries.

The EU has said at the COP27 summit it does not rule out the possibility of a fund, a shift after rich countries have long resisted the idea because of fears of spiralling liability for emissions historically linked to the developed world.

EU negotiator Jacob Werksman said negotiations were not ready to agree on a single funding solution but he hoped the COP27 summit would achieve more than just scheduling further talks on climate compensation.

“We don’t think that this process is ready to agree in principle that a new fund or facility is the right or the only way forward,” he told a news conference.

“But we are not excluding that and couldn’t exclude that as a significant part of the conversation.”

Climate-vulnerable countries say wealthy industrialised countries should help to pay for irreversible damage from floods, storms and rising seas after decades of emissions have caused global temperatures to rise.

Developing countries are pushing for a climate loss and damage fund, and say alternative proposals such as a “Global Shield” initiative to strengthen disaster insurance by the G7 leading economies are not a substitute for a new United Nations scheme.

Michai Robertson, lead finance negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), told Reuters the UN talks should create the fund because they are a rare forum where every country gets a say, including poor and climate-vulnerable states.

“What more legitimacy do you want than a process where all the states have signed up?” Mr Robertson said.

“It’s gonna be a lot more work. But isn’t it worth it?”

The EU has cautioned that new UN funds can take years to launch and that other funding routes could be more efficient in helping states struck by climate disasters.

Government ministers will take over negotiations at COP27 next week after diplomats have wrangled over technical details this week, and the aim is to clinch deals by the summit’s scheduled close on Friday.