EU Plan Could Raise $200B in Climate Funds

The European Union last week proposed the most detailed plan to date for raising funds to assist poor nations in adapting to climate change. 

Developed nations could raise $200 billion through a levy on greenhouse gases from 2013-2020, according to an EU paper released last week.

The issue of funding has been one of the sticking points in ongoing negotiations to develop a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. Negotiators seem to be in agreement that poor nations need financial support to help mitigate the effects of climate change and develop clean energy sources, but so far rich nations have not committed to funding levels or a plan for raising funds.

The EU paper suggests that developed nations should set greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2020 and pay either a fixed price or marketprice for every ton of emissions.

It’s suggested that if the plan is widely instituted, it could encourage China to agree to binding climate change measures. 

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