Pete Harrrison and Johan Ahlander, Reuters 25 Jul 09;
BRUSSELS/ARE, Sweden (Reuters) - Rich countries should immediately mobilize billions of dollars in development aid to the poorest nations to win their trust in the run-up to global climate talks in Copenhagen, a draft EU report says.
OECD countries should also fulfill their existing commitments on overseas aid, which would more than double those aid flows to poor nations to around $280 billion annually by 2015, it added.
The recommendations are made in a draft report by the European Commission and Sweden, which holds the EU's six-month presidency and has convened ministers in a Swedish mountain resort to prepare for climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
"We stand ready to deliver the upfront financing and we have the mandate needed," Andreas Carlgren, Sweden's Environment Minister, told a news briefing.
Prospects of a deal in Copenhagen have been boosted by fresh engagement by China and the United States.
But the EU is worried an agreement might not be reached because of a gap in trust between poor countries and the rich, industrialized states they blame for causing climate change in the first place.
The report said clarifying and increasing the global contribution to "adaptation funding" between now and 2012 could contribute to trust-building with least developed countries.
"A specific EU commitment is desirable before Copenhagen," said the report, which will be finalized in coming weeks. Rich countries should immediately mobilize $1-2 billion to assist vulnerable, low-income countries, it added.
British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said he thought there was a role for short-term actions in the run-up to Copenhagen as a way to build confidence, but that it should in no way substitute efforts to secure longer-term financing.
"It's not a substitute for the bigger prize," he told journalists at the end of meetings with his European counterparts.
"Unless we come out of Copenhagen with a long-term financing arrangement, we're not going to get the steps we need from developing countries and we're not going to be able to say that this is the kind of agreement we need."
Germany's State Secretary for the Environment Matthias Machnig said delegates had discussed upfront financing for research projects for developing countries.
"For me it is crucial that the money is there for projects as of 2013. There is a debate to do something from 2010 to 2013," he told reporters.
"DISGRACE"
Jean-Louis Borloo, the French ecology minister, told Reuters Friday rich nations would need to scale up their commitments, implying that poor nations would need around $200 billion annually by 2020.
"It's an absolute disgrace to leave Africa in the greatest insecurity," he added. The Swedish report singled out Africa for help in developing renewable energy.
And it said OECD countries should live up to existing commitments of 0.7 percent of national income for overseas aid, compared to an average of 0.3 percent currently.
"In absolute terms, this would mean moving from around $120 billion in 2008 to around $280 billion by 2015," it added.
Any funds to help poor nations deal with climate change should come on top of current aid payments, said the report.
But Oxfam International said climate funds should come on top of the $280 billion commitments, rather than the $120 billion that is actually paid.
"The big flows of money after Copenhagen, should be on top of that 0.7 percent," said Oxfam climate campaigner Tim Gore. "We mustn't divert funds that would otherwise be spent on schools and hospitals."
(Additional reporting by Mia Shanley, Julien Toyer and Ilona Wissenbach; editing by Andrew Roche)
Developing nations may have to wait on climate aid: EU presidency
Catherine Marciano And James Franey Yahoo News 25 Jul 09;
AARE, Sweden (AFP) – 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 on Saturday.
Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren told journalists the 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.
"There can be related to the negotiations (in Denmark) a reason to wait for the numbers," Carlgren said.
His comments came during an informal meeting of EU environment ministers here in Aare, central Sweden.
German State Secretary for the Environment Matthias Machnig echoed Carlgren's views, saying that it would be better for the EU "to wait a bit".
"It is not very clever to put all aces on the table when you are playing poker," he said.
His Austrian counterpart Nikolaus Berlakovich told AFP he believed Europe was more likely to reveal its hand on the eve of the summit, which runs from December 7 to 18.
"I don't believe any figures will be announced in October," he said, referring to a meeting between European heads of state and government that could give the Swedish presidency a full mandate to negotiate at the talks.
Britain's State Secretary for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband, however, said he hoped a package for emerging economies could be put together at that time.
"We can't leave it to the last night in Copenhagen before reaching an agreement," he told AFP.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested last month that poorer nations would need as much as 100 billion euros (142 billion dollars) a year to help them adjust to climate change, while the European Commission has suggested a figure of 30 billion euros.
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.
"We are paying for something. We need to see we have the right contributions put on the table (from developing countries)," said Sweden's Carlgren said.
If an agreement is reached in December, the EU has promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent between now and 2020.
If talks break down, Europe says it will stay on its current track of cutting emissions by 20 percent by that date.
Aside from the finance issue for poorer nations, there is also the internal question of how to share the burden of carbon emissions fairly across the 27 EU member states.
EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas told journalists that he was confident the issue would be resolved within the next months.
"That will be decided before Copenhagen," he said.
But some officials fear the process will involve intense bartering that overshadow the run-up to the talks and even undermine the EU's claim to be united as a world leader on climate change.
"(This) has to be delayed until after Copenhagen to avoid countries like Poland paralysing our ability to negotiate on the international stage," said one European delegation.
Poland is heavily reliant on coal power and fears that over-ambitious targets will lead to soaring energy prices and slower economic growth.
French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Polish energy bills were already on the rise.
"If now we go from 20 to 30 percent (in a reduction of EU carbon emissions), the costs for Poland will become prohibitive without a mechanism of solidarity," he told AFP.
EU environment ministers will meet again October 21 in Luxembourg -- the day after their finance counterparts hold talks there -- with these key issues high on their agenda.
Heads of state and government could then agree on the EU's joint position during a two-day summit in Brussels on October 29 and October 30.
