CLIMATE AID

Developing countries will have to wait

07-27-2009 | AFP

Panama Star SWEDEN. Developing countries could be made to wait until the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December before the EU reveals how much money it will give them to cope with the effects of global warming, the Swedish EU presidency said. Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said EU would be prepared to provide financial assistance but should not commit to any figures ahead of the talks aimed at forging a deal to tackle climate change after the existing Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested last month that poorer nations would need as much as 142 billion dollars a year to help, while the European Commission has suggested a figure of 42 billion dollars. The 27-member bloc is now driving a hard bargain with these countries, saying money will only be released if they put forward clear strategies for the green development of their economies.