U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States will work with other nations to establish a $100 billion a year fund for climate financing for poor countries. She made the announcement at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.
"The United States is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries," Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State Clinton says the United States wants a comprehensive and operational new agreement to come out of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives for a press briefing at the climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, 17 Dec 2009
She said an agreement must include commitments from all major economies to take decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and strong standards for full transparency over those efforts.
If that can be accomplished, Clinton said the United States will make significant contributions.
"The United States is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries," Clinton said.
The announcement could boost deadlocked talks in Copenhagen, stalled over greenhouse-gas emission cuts and funding.
But Clinton said the issue of full transparency is a deal-breaker for the United States, which has been at odds with China, in particular, over verification of implementation of gas emission curbs.
"It would be hard to imagine, speaking for the United States, that there could be the level of financial commitment that I have just announced, in the absence of transparency from the second-biggest emitter [of greenhouse gases], and now I guess the first-biggest emitter and now nearly, if not already, the second-biggest economy," she said.
China has balked at having outside monitoring of its implementation of emission cuts.
The environmental group, the World Wildlife Fund immediately welcomed the Clinton announcement, noting that the $100 billion commitment breathes new life into the sputtering negotiations." The Fund called for the United States and China to bridge their differences.
The United States has come under criticism at the conference for its small emission cut offer. Washington is offering to cut 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2012 - compared to offers of a 20 percent cut from 1990 levels by European countries, who say they would cut 30 percent if matched by other developed countries.
Clinton said the U.S. cut was an initial step to increase to a 30 percent cut by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050.
Clinton said precious time has been lost in these past few days of negotiating and she said talks must not focus on an "us versus them" attitude, but rather on common efforts.
World leaders continue to arrive in Copenhagen for the final two days of talks. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to address the conference Friday.
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