12-20-2009, 08:54 AM
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WHAT ABOUT US HILLARY?Hillary Clinton Pledges $100B for Developing Countries
Hillary Clinton Pledges $100B for Developing Countries
Quote:
COPENHAGEN -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has promised the United States will help raise $100 billion annually by 2020 to assist poor countries in coping with climate change as long as America's demands for a global warming pledge are met.
Clinton's announcement, made during a packed news conference, represents a major breakthrough in the U.N.-led talks, which had all but ground to a halt last night. But Clinton emphasized that the money is only on the table so long as fast-growing nations like China and India accept binding commitments that are open to international inspection and verification. If other countries don't bend, she warned, the poorest countries will suffer.
"In the absence of an operational agreement that meets the requirements that I outlined, there will not be that financial agreement, at least from the United States," Clinton warned. And, she added: "Without that accord, there won't be the kind of joint global action from all of the major economies we all want to see, and the effects in the developing world could be catastrophic."
The pledged amount is less than what the European Union had laid out as necessary to help the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America prepare for climate disasters and develop low-fossil-fuel economies. Clinton said the funding would come from a mix of public and private financing, including revenue raised from the auctioning of emission allowances under a possible U.S. cap-and-trade system still under development on Capitol Hill.
Clinton did not go into many other details, leaving it unclear precisely what the U.S. share of the $100 billion would be. U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said he is "looking keenly forward" to learning what that contribution will be.
De Boer and others said Clinton's announcement has helped get the lurching and sputtering train of international climate talks back on track.
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Hillary Clinton Pledges $100B for Developing Countries - NYTimes.com
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