United Nations talks on funding to curb and adapt to climate change resumed Monday with tempered hope that negotiators and ministers might resolve differences and strike a deal after sluggish progress last week.

That hope comes from the arrival of the climate and environment ministers from around the world this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the COP29 talks. They'll give their teams instructions on ways forward.

Negotiators at the summit were urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes.

"We are in a difficult place," said Melanie Robinson, economics and finance program director of global climate at the World Resources Institute. "The discussion has not yet moved to the political level – when it does, I think ministers will do what they can to make a deal."

U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for countries to "cut the theatrics and get down to real business."

"We will only get the job done if Parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground," Stiell said to a room of delegates in Baku, Azerbaijan. "I know we can get this done."

Climate and environment ministers from around the world have arrived at the summit to help push the talks forward.

"Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal," said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev at a press conference at the venue. "They must deliver and engage immediately and constructively."

Talks in Baku are focused on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. But countries are far apart in terms of how much money will be required. Several experts put the sum needed at around $1 trillion.

Some rich countries say that developing countries that are able to – such as China and Gulf states – should also be contributors to the climate cash pot.

But Teresa Anderson, the global lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, was skeptical about rich countries' intentions.

"The concern is that the pressure to add developing countries to the list of contributors is not, in fact, about raising more money for front line countries," Anderson said. "Rich countries are just trying to point the finger and have an excuse to provide less finance. That's not the way to address runaway climate breakdown, and is a distraction from the real issues at stake."

Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists said $1 trillion in global climate funds "is going to look like a bargain five, 10 years from now."

"We're going to wonder why we didn't take that and run with it," she said, citing a multitude of costly recent extreme weather events from flooding in Spain to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States.

Also on Monday, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been mulling a proposal to cut public spending for foreign fossil fuel projects.

The OECD – made up of 38 member countries including Türkiye, the U.S., the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Germany – are discussing a deal that could prevent up to $40 billion worth of carbon-polluting projects.

"It's of critical importance that President Biden comes out in support. We know it's really important that he lands a deal that Trump cannot undo. This can be really important for Biden's legacy," said Lauri van der Burg, Global Public Finance Lead at Oil Change International.

Meanwhile, the world's biggest decision-makers are halfway around the world as another major summit convenes. Brazil is hosting the G-20 summit, which runs Nov. 18-19, bringing together many of the world's largest economies. Climate change will be on the agenda, among other major topics like rising global tensions and poverty.

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said G-20 nations "cannot turn their backs on the reality of their historical emissions and the responsibility that comes with it."

"They must commit to trillions in public finance," he said.