Exclusive: EU pledges billions to climate change fight
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German media have broken the news that the European Union is likely to allocate billions of Euro to address climate change.
The official web site of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) has also reported that the EU will allocate between one and three billion Euro to the cause.
The primary beneficiaries of these funds will be developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and need immediate financial aid in the next one to three years.
Denmark, the conference's host nation which is already well known for its commitment to researching, developing, and utilizing alternative and green forms of energy, got in on the act as it committed 1.2 billion kroner (162.26 million Euro) to climate change mitigation and adaption.
A press release from the Danish foreign ministry states: "This is an important contribution to reaching a new climate agreement and increasing the pressure on the other countries to come to Copenhagen with concrete figures."
Foreign Minister Per Stig M?ller said Denmark was now at the forefront of climate funding for developing countries. "We are sending a clear signal to other countries that financing must be put on the table in Copenhagen. Without financing to the poorest countries which are hardest hit – there will be no climate agreement."
In another related development, nine European nations pledged to build more links between wind power stations in the North and Irish Seas.
Wind energy producers often complain that there are so few links between power stations, as it means that not enough wind-generated electricity can be quickly sent to where it is needed.
The energy ministers from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg have promised to develop a new offshore power grid to link up electricity produced from sea-based wind power turbines.
