Leaders from developing countries at the COP27 conference in Egypt are calling for financial support to address "loss and damage" caused by climate change.

The two-day World Leaders Summit of the UN climate change conference opened in the eastern Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday with leaders from more than 100 nations and regions taking part.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the leaders, "Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish" and urged countries around the world to come together to fight climate change.

He said the G20 nations, which are responsible for around 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, "must accelerate their transition now -- in this decade."

For the first time, the leaders are expected to discuss financial support for loss and damage caused by climate change.

But industrialized nations are reluctant to create a system that will oblige them to assist for damage. Funding for loss and damage is, therefore, expected to be a major point of contention in negotiations.

Speaking on behalf of African leaders, Kenya's President William Ruto said, "Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue." He appealed that it is a "daily experience and the living nightmare" for Kenyans and African people.