Failure by countries to agree on rules to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement on global warming would be "suicidal”, the United Nations chief said on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told delegates from more than 130 countries meeting in the city of Katowice, Poland, they had less than three days to find the political will to reach the difficult compromises, sacrifices and common ground needed for a deal.

The two-week talks are tasked with breathing life into the Paris accord, which vows to cap global warming at "well under” 2 degrees Celsius and funnel hundreds of billions of dollars to poor countries already feeling the sting of deadly storms, heatwaves and drought made worse by climate change.

"Key political issues” deadlocking UN climate talks "remain unresolved”, said Guterres.

"Failing here in Katowice would send a disastrous message to those who stand ready to shift to a green economy,” he said.

Agencies