Help for countries damaged by global warming must be provided in a proposed UN deal, the European Union’s climate chief told a Pacific Island audience on Wednesday.

Miguel Arias Canete said he was committed to finding a “practical way forward on this crucial issue” in the outcome of a global agreement set to be signed off this December in Paris.

“Let me assure you, that for the EU, adaptation and loss and damage needs to be treated with the same priority and urgency as mitigation,” he told the 46th Pacific Islands Forum in Papua New Guinea.

Canete’s speech is the latest sign that developed countries now acknowledge the controversial issue of loss and damage from climate impacts needs to be adequately resolved this year.

Previously they have pushed back on calls for compensation, fearing they could face spiralling bills if floods, droughts and rises in sea level increase as a result of warming temperatures.