Accusing the emerging economies of “backing away” from making their climate actions open to scrutiny, the U.S. today said it will contribute towards a $100 billion annual fund to help poor countries cope with climate change if they agree to “transparency“.
Attempting to give an impetus to the faltering climate talks on their penultimate day, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her country will mobilise $100 billion yearly till 2020 if developing countries agree to “transparency” in national commitments.
She also attacked emerging nations for reneging on promises to make national mitigation targets open to scrutiny.
“There have been occasions in this past year when all the major economies have committed to transparency,” Ms. Clinton said.
“Now that we are trying to define what transparency means and how we would both implement it and observe it, there’s a backing away from transparency and that to us is something that undermines the whole effort we’re engaged in,” she said.
Noting that the “difficult” climate talks had reached a “critical juncture,” she told a press conference that time was running out to reach a “common ground” and take a “historic step that we can all be proud of“.
As divisions sharpened between the developed and the developing nations on the way forward, Clinton said there should be no doubt about the commitment of the U.S. in realising a successful agreement here at Copenhagen and meeting this great global challenge together. But stressed that ultimately “this must be a common effort”.
On the $100 billion annual climate fund, Ms. Clinton said: “We expect this funding to come from a wide variety of sources — public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance“.
Prior to the commencement of the Summit-level talks, Ms. Clinton, who arrived here ahead of the U.S. President, Barack Obama, sought to address their demands on funds to finance clean technology and adaptation skills.
Mr. Obama has said that his administration was committed to forge a deal at Copenhagen, and the President has tried to reach out to all major players ahead of the talks.
“We recognise that the agreement must provide generous financial and technical help for developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, to help reduce emissions and adapt to climate change,” she said.
As consensus eluded the world delegates despite 11 days of hectic parleys, Ms. Clinton said her team along with many others was working round the clock to forge a deal.
“There is a way forward based on a number of core elements, decisive national actions, and operational accord that internationalises those actions, assistance for nations that are the most vulnerable and least prepared to meet the effects of climate change,” she said.
While she said the U.S. was “ready to embrace this path” she stressed upon a status of “transparency that provides credibility to the entire process“.
She also pointed out that the international community had lost precious time in the past days, and said in the time that was left it can no longer be “us versus them”.
