The annual United Nations climate conference COP27 kicked off in Egypt on Sunday. But as delegates try to find unity on ways to address climate change, there are worries the gathering will be clouded by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The conference is being attended by representatives from more than 190 countries and territories.

The gathering comes amid a deepening rift between the West and Russia over the invasion.

A Russian negotiator said, "We really think that we should not play any geopolitics here. And we should concentrate on climate issues here."

On the agenda is a proposal to prioritize funding on "loss and damage." This is in response to the growing impact of climate change, including summer floods in Pakistan.

Some economies are expanding their use of coal, which emits more greenhouse gases than other energy sources. Greece decided three years ago to close all coal-fired thermal power plants by 2023. However, the prime minister announced the country is temporarily expanding its use by 50 percent. EU members are relying more on fossil fuels due to the issues stemming from Russia's invasion.

The International Energy Agency predicts coal consumption among those members will increase 7 percent this year.

Attendees at last year's conference agreed to make efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

But the latest UN analysis suggests a rise of about 2.5 degrees by the end of the century based on the current pace of greenhouse gas emission cuts.