BAKU, Azerbaijan — Negotiators at this year’s United Nations climate summit struck an agreement early Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan, to triple the flow of money to help developing countries adopt cleaner energy and cope with the effects of climate change. Under the deal, wealthy nations pledged to reach $300 billion per year in support by 2035, up from a current target of $100 billion.

Independent experts, however, have placed the needs of developing countries much higher, at $1.3 trillion per year. That is the amount they say must be invested in the energy transitions of lower-income countries, in addition to what those countries already spend, to keep the planet’s average temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius. Beyond that threshold, scientists say, global warming will become more dangerous and harder to reverse.

The deal reached at the annual U.N.-sponsored talks calls on private companies and international lenders such as the World Bank to cover the hundreds of billions in the shortfall. That was seen by some as a kind of escape clause for rich countries.

The financing negotiations were complicated by the election of Donald Trump less than a week before the summit’s opening day. Trump is widely expected to renege on any commitments negotiated in Baku and has said he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the landmark 2015 climate accord that aims to curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

Another difficulty was the expectation that the Republican-led Congress will curtail funding for Ukraine, placing a greater burden on that country’s European allies and leaving less money available for climate efforts.

Many negotiators and diplomats said, however, that Trump’s election also created a sense of urgency around the need to speed the transformation of increasingly interconnected economies around the world, many of which are still largely dependent on fossil fuels.

The agreement, which is not legally binding and will function largely through diplomatic peer pressure, comes after two weeks of divisive debate.Under U.N. rules written in 1992. certain wealthy countries, mostly in the West, are considered developed, while other nations, including China and Saudi Arabia, are considered developing. Countries in the developing group are “invited” to provide financial aid but not expected to do so.

Today, however, many wealthy nations say the distinction no longer makes sense and that China, Saudi Arabia and others should be compelled to provide a share of climate financing. t

Developing countries have also accused Western nations of betraying their past commitments by failing to hit the previous $100 billion target until years after the deadline set under that agreement.

They also accused rich countries of using domestic politics as an excuse to contribute less.