BONN, Germany (Thomson Reuters Fou-ndation) – UN climate negotiations in Bonn, aimed at laying the groundwork for faster action to curb climate change and deal with its impacts, ended in the early hours of Saturday morning with solid progress on key issues, including preparations for ramping up carbon cuts.

Negotiators also opted to give women, indigenous people and agricultural concerns a bigger role in efforts to fight climate change.

But after a year of rising losses from wild weather around the world, there was limited progress at the gathering – led by Fiji – on two other top concerns of poor nations: Finance for climate action and help with growing losses.

Negotiators left still unclear how richer countries will mobilise a promised $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poorer nations develop cleanly and become more resilient to climate change.

And developed country officials refused to look at innovative taxes or other ways to help poor countries pay for growing losses from climate disasters, offering instead insurance options.