The shaping of a climate mitigation fund for developing countries remained a contentious issue at the Copenhagen talks, the Associated Press reported. U.S. climate negotiator Jonathan Pershing said the U.S. didn't "have unlimited largesse to disburse" for the proposed $10-billion fund, and Eastern European nations also were reluctant to help the EU provide funding. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said "we will have a better figure tomorrow" for the EU contribution. The EU had vowed to have member countries "contribute their fair share" if other nations did the same. Meanwhile, China pressured the U.S. to go beyond its current proposal to cut 1990 GHG emissions levels 3 percent by 2020, Reuters reported.
Chinese negotiator Xie Zhenhua called for "at least 40 percent" cuts by developed nations, as well as their "sufficient, additional and sustainable" climate aid to other nations. China, Brazil, India and South Africa proposed that the nations make the cuts "mainly through domestic measures" and criticized "unilateral fiscal measures" by developed nations. In response, U.S. special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern was quoted as saying: "If you care about the science, and we do, there is no way to solve this problem by giving the major developing countries a pass."
Related stories also appeared in AFP, , Los Angeles (Calif.) Times, New York Times, Washington Post, and Xinhua.
