Dutch climate minister Rob Jetten has described the lack of progress at the climate talks in Sharm El-sheikh after ‘two difficult weeks’ as ‘extremely disappointing’.

‘In a year of extreme weather and alarming reports about the climate, we have not managed to make major progress in reducing CO2 emissions by all the countries which do so,’ Jetten said in a statement. ‘This is extremely disappointing.’

The 27th United Nations climate summit, hosted by Egypt, focused on measures to implement current agreements, such as the 1.5 degree limit to global warming, as well as climate adaptation.

There was, however, a breakthrough on financial support for developing countries which are grappling to deal with the consequences of climate change and this is ‘enormously important to vulnerable countries which are already dealing with it,’ Jetten said.

Leaders have agreed to set up a loss and damage fund to support countries on the front lines of climate change and this step, Jetten said, will help restore trust between the global north and the south.

At the same time, he said, ‘hopefully this will make it possible in the coming year to make a real breakthrough and speed up our approach to climate change.’

Frans Timmermans, the European Commission deputy president and the Netherlands’ representative on the commission, told reporters that the decision to set up a loss and damage fund targeting the most vulnerable countries ‘must go hand-in-hand with higher ambition on emissions reductions.’

The EU has presented a proposal that could see #COP27 agree to a #lossanddamage fund – targeted to the most vulnerable, reflecting the financial realities of 2022. It must go hand-in-hand with higher ambition on emissions reductions.

Here’s what I told the press this morning 👇 pic.twitter.com/PanBfwg8zh

— Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) November 18, 2022

‘No amount of money on this planet can address the issue of loss and damage and the issue of adapation,’ he said. ‘Mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and adaptation all go together.’

The accord, he said, is ‘a too small step forwards’ and participating countries should recognise that, he said.

Read the Guardian blog on the summit and its results