Poor countries will need to be given about 100 billion euros ($142 billion) a year by 2020 to help them cut emissions in the fight against climate change, a draft report for European Union finance ministers shows. The report, obtained by Reuters, comes after the EU laid out plans to hold competitive tenders for the funding, during which poor nations would present their most cost-effective projects for cutting carbon emissions. Both documents reveal an EU vision taking shape, which finance ministers will fine-tune at a meeting next Tuesday in the run-up to global climate talks in Copenhagen in December. The key issue in Copenhagen will be finding the finance needed to persuade developing nations to cut emissions and further funding to help them adapt to a problem they say has been caused by rich, industrialised nations. Such funding could help develop drought-resistant crops or find new sources of fresh water as rising temperatures deplete the glaciers on which millions depend for summer meltwater. Between half and two thirds of the cheapest options for cutting greenhouse gases up to 2020 or 2030 are in developing countries, the EU's Economic Policy Committee and the Economic and Financial Committee say in the document on funding needs. Environmentalists see the document as proof that Europe's top economic experts recognise the need to support poor nations in the fight against climate change, and question whether finance ministers will be able to ignore such advice. Emissions cuts by poor nations would partly pay for themselves because cleaning up power generation and industry also reduces their consumption of expensive fossil fuels, but an extra 100 billion euros a year of investments would still be needed by 2020. This would include measures to halt the destruction of rainforests and to curb emissions from agriculture. "Financing to cover additional costs to mitigate greenhouse gases in developing countries will need to come from developing countries' own contributions, international public finance and the carbon market," the report said. "It would need to be scaled up gradually, starting shortly after the Copenhagen agreement," it added.
