COPENHAGEN (www.nytimes.com) -- 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."
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.
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.
After a long stall, some movement
"Hold tight and mind the doors. The cable car is moving again," a smiling de Boer said moments after Clinton's announcement.
Added Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, "There's a feeling among negotiators that now we have to go into business, and now we have to be flexible, and now we have to try as hard as we can to make real compromises."
U.S. environmental groups and House Democrats heaped praise on the announcement, while Republican staffers warned of the political difficulties back home in selling such a vast contribution as the economy reels.
"I think it's very essential to the success of how we go forward," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told E&E as she arrived at the Bella Center. "We'll see what the participation will be of other nations, what's certainly appropriate for us to play a leading role in it. So I salute her."
"Hold tight and mind the doors. The cable car is moving again," a smiling de Boer said moments after Clinton's announcement.
Added Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, "There's a feeling among negotiators that now we have to go into business, and now we have to be flexible, and now we have to try as hard as we can to make real compromises."
U.S. environmental groups and House Democrats heaped praise on the announcement, while Republican staffers warned of the political difficulties back home in selling such a vast contribution as the economy reels.
"I think it's very essential to the success of how we go forward," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told E&E as she arrived at the Bella Center. "We'll see what the participation will be of other nations, what's certainly appropriate for us to play a leading role in it. So I salute her."
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