Clinton: US would help raise billions on climate

Clinton: US would help raise billions on climate
AP

By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent


COPENHAGEN – As hopes faded for a strong climate deal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to put new life into flagging U.N. talks Thursday by announcing the U.S. would join others in raising $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poorer nations cope with global warming.

She made the offer contingent on the conference's reaching a broader agreement, including on the issue of "transparency," demanding a Chinese commitment to allow some kind of oversight to verify its actions to control emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

The Chinese thus far have resisted what they see as a potential intrusion on their sovereignty. But without that, Clinton told reporters, "there will not be the kind of concerted global action that we so desperately need."

Clinton's arrival and announcement in snowy Copenhagen ratcheted up the U.S.-Chinese diplomatic dueling that has been dominated the two weeks of climate talks. The negotiations end Friday with a summit gathering of President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and more than 110 other national leaders.

For China's part, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Beijing told reporters Thursday that developed countries should show "more sincerity" in the talks here.

Environment ministers, having taken over from lower-level negotiators, were getting down to final hours of talks Thursday in hopes of producing partial agreements to put before Obama, Wen and the others leaders.

Such accords might include long-term goals for financing climate aid, raised by Clinton, and monitoring of emissions controls.

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