Brown gives EU £1.5bn to fight climate change

Prime Minister Gordon Brown upped Britain's contribution by £300,000,000.00 at the last minute to £1.5 billion to encourage bigger offers, particularly from Spain and Italy.

In a sense, the move worked - delivering a final figure above the target for agreement at the summit.

But Mr Brown - and the UK taxpayer - was left with an enormous bill.

France and Germany - both of whom have larger economies than the UK - will pay £300 million less each - about £1.2 billion over three years.

Asked why the British contribution was the biggest, Mr Brown said: “I think we have done the right thing.

"This offer is one of the ways we can get a global agreement at Copenhagen.”

He said that because of its Commonwealth background, Britain was historically committed to helping poor nations, particularly in Africa - and he predicted that Germany and France would also increase their contributions to the so-called “fast start” fund to help the developing nations meet their share of the financial burden of a global deal.

The PM also confirmed that EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed they will offer a 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, if other countries are willing to commit themselves to ambitious reductions in Copenhagen.

This offer falls short of Mr Brown’s call earlier this week for the EU to commit itself to 30% cuts regardless of what other developed countries do.

Mr Brown said today’s unanimous decisions amounted to “a very significant move forward in the search for a Copenhagen agreement”.

Europe wants a 10 billion US dollars-a-year (£6.14 billion) fund to be set up for the period 2010/12 to allow the developing world to take immediate action on mitigating emissions and adapting to the impact of global warming in the period before whatever agreement is reached in Copenhagen takes effect in 2013.

Today’s promise of 2.4 billion euros (£2.17bn) a year is more generous than the 2 billion euros expected before the Brussels meeting of the European Council. It amounts to around 3.6 billion dollars and meets more than one-third of the total fund.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Mr Brown said: “Britain’s contribution is one that we are proud we are making, and that is 800 million dollars or £500 million a year.

“That makes it possible for the poorest countries to come to the table knowing that they can mitigate carbon emissions and adapt to climate change.”

Cash from the fast-track fund will go towards changes to help poor countries deal with the impact of global warming, such as sea walls, hurricane defences and low-water agricultural techniques, as well as measures to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, such as protecting rainforests and cutting emissions.

“This means that Europe is contributing its best towards the Copenhagen settlement over these next few days,” said Mr Brown.

The PM said EU leaders had agreed to do “everything in our power” to achieve an ambitious outcome to the UN-sponsored Copenhagen summit, which is trying to put a framework in place for the period after the Kyoto climate change agreement expires in 2012.

The EU was “prepared to go to 30% as a cut in carbon emissions as the EU, as long as we have ambition from other countries as well”, said Mr Brown.

And he said the EU would back moves to put a 100 billion dollar fund in place by 2020 to help poor countries meet the challenges of climate change.

Mr Brown said: “I will do my best, working with other countries, to contribute to the success of the Copenhagen process.

“I believe there is goodwill now, that there is a determination that things move forward. Obviously we are hoping that other countries respond to the generous offers that Europe has made but we look forward to a successful outcome.”

The cash pledge meant developing nations could now “see that their needs are being taken seriously”, he said, adding that he hoped to go to Copenhagen early next week to meet with African and other developing countries’ representatives.

He said he would also co-chair, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a meeting with African nations to discuss a deal on deforestation.