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| Brown proposes £60bn climate fund | Brown proposes £60bn climate fund |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to set up a £60bn annual fund to help poor countries deal with climate change. | Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to set up a £60bn annual fund to help poor countries deal with climate change. |
| He hopes it will break the deadlock over who will pay developing nations to adapt to the changing climate and who will help them obtain clean technology. | He hopes it will break the deadlock over who will pay developing nations to adapt to the changing climate and who will help them obtain clean technology. |
| Countries must reach a binding global agreement on carbon emission cuts at December's Copenhagen summit, he said. | Countries must reach a binding global agreement on carbon emission cuts at December's Copenhagen summit, he said. |
| The summit is seen as the last chance to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto agreement, which expires in 2012. | The summit is seen as the last chance to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto agreement, which expires in 2012. |
| Environment and anti-poverty campaigners welcomed Mr Brown's remarks but said he and other leaders must deliver real financial support not merely "empty rhetoric". | |
| Finance is one of the key sticking points in global negotiations, with poor nations demanding huge amounts of cash and rich nations reluctant to commit. | Finance is one of the key sticking points in global negotiations, with poor nations demanding huge amounts of cash and rich nations reluctant to commit. |
| The UK figure is less than developing nations say they need - but at least it will provide a negotiating point in the coming G8 when the leaders of emerging nations will join for a special climate summit chaired by US President Barack Obama. | The UK figure is less than developing nations say they need - but at least it will provide a negotiating point in the coming G8 when the leaders of emerging nations will join for a special climate summit chaired by US President Barack Obama. |
| If we act now, act together and act with vision and resolve, success at Copenhagen is within reach Gordon Brown | |
| Some of the political blocks need to be cleared in this meeting if there is to be a new global deal at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December. | Some of the political blocks need to be cleared in this meeting if there is to be a new global deal at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December. |
| Mr Brown said: "Copenhagen is twenty-three weeks away. When historians look back on this critical moment, let them say, not that we were the generation that failed our children; but that we had the courage, and the will, to succeed." | Mr Brown said: "Copenhagen is twenty-three weeks away. When historians look back on this critical moment, let them say, not that we were the generation that failed our children; but that we had the courage, and the will, to succeed." |
| 'Act with vision' | 'Act with vision' |
| Speaking in London, Mr Brown said leading industrialised economies must support developing nations most at risk from climate change to enable them to keep on growing while meeting their environmental obligations. | Speaking in London, Mr Brown said leading industrialised economies must support developing nations most at risk from climate change to enable them to keep on growing while meeting their environmental obligations. |
| He suggested £60bn would be needed to help poor countries adjust to climate change, stressing the UK would pay "its fair share" towards this. | He suggested £60bn would be needed to help poor countries adjust to climate change, stressing the UK would pay "its fair share" towards this. |
| "Over recent years, the world has woken to the reality of climate change," he said. | "Over recent years, the world has woken to the reality of climate change," he said. |
| "But the fact that is that we have not yet joined together to act against it. | "But the fact that is that we have not yet joined together to act against it. |
| "Copenhagen must be the moment we do so. | "Copenhagen must be the moment we do so. |
| "If we act now, act together and act with vision and resolve, success at Copenhagen is within reach." | "If we act now, act together and act with vision and resolve, success at Copenhagen is within reach." |
| Ultimately, if catastrophe is to be avoided and the poorest people protected, we need more money and sooner Barbara Stocking, Oxfam chief executive | |
| Money could be raised from selling carbon permits and from existing development aid budgets, although he said contributions from the latter should be limited. | Money could be raised from selling carbon permits and from existing development aid budgets, although he said contributions from the latter should be limited. |
| The BBC's Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin said Mr Brown's efforts were designed to break the deadlock over who would pay for poorer countries to make the difficult transition to a low-carbon economy. | The BBC's Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin said Mr Brown's efforts were designed to break the deadlock over who would pay for poorer countries to make the difficult transition to a low-carbon economy. |
| But Oxfam said at least $150bn a year was needed to protect poorer countries from climate change. | |
| "The prime minister's proposal could give a welcome kick-start to negotiations if other leaders rise to the challenge," said chief executive Barbara Stocking. | |
| "Ultimately, if catastrophe is to be avoided and the poorest people protected, we need more money and sooner." | |
| Friends of the Earth said it welcomed the government's "recognition that finance is key to breaking the deadlock in the stalled UN talks," but added: "We have no chance of achieving the cuts required through the con of carbon offsetting." | |
| Temperature rises | |
| By putting a figure on the cost of climate change adjustment, Greenpeace said Gordon Brown was showing leadership but urged him to put "serious money" on the table when G8 leaders meet in Italy next month. | |
| The UK government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and argues the rest of the world must follow suit if global temperature rises are to be restricted to 2 Celsius - above which is regarded dangerous. | The UK government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and argues the rest of the world must follow suit if global temperature rises are to be restricted to 2 Celsius - above which is regarded dangerous. |
| "We cannot in good conscience plan for the world to exceed that limit," Mr Brown said. | "We cannot in good conscience plan for the world to exceed that limit," Mr Brown said. |
| Ministers say the legally-binding target puts the UK in the vanguard of international efforts on climate change. | |
| Mr Brown stressed the UK was on track to exceed the targets for cuts agreed under the Kyoto protocol. | Mr Brown stressed the UK was on track to exceed the targets for cuts agreed under the Kyoto protocol. |
| But recent figures from the Stockholm Institute - a respected research body - have thrown a somewhat different light on the UK's performance. | |
| The climate department DECC says, for instance, that although China's total emissions are immense, the average European is responsible for emitting twice as much greenhouse gases as the average person in Chinese. | The climate department DECC says, for instance, that although China's total emissions are immense, the average European is responsible for emitting twice as much greenhouse gases as the average person in Chinese. |
| But the official tally of emissions does not include aviation and shipping, and it takes no account of emissions embedded in imported goods. | But the official tally of emissions does not include aviation and shipping, and it takes no account of emissions embedded in imported goods. |
| When these are taken into account, the institute calculates that the average UK resident pollutes 15 tonnes a year - almost five times more than the average Chinese person at 3.1 tonnes a year. | When these are taken into account, the institute calculates that the average UK resident pollutes 15 tonnes a year - almost five times more than the average Chinese person at 3.1 tonnes a year. |
| This implies that the UK should be making much deeper cuts in emissions than are already planned. | This implies that the UK should be making much deeper cuts in emissions than are already planned. |