EU summit: Contribution to fast-track funding of climate adaptation

At an EU summit to end in Brussels Friday, Sweden, holding the EU rotating presidency, will push for clarity on what level of finance the member countries are ready to provide for adaptation in vulnerable countries over the next three years. This is according to BBC News.

The idea would be to announce the contribution now in order to add positive momentum to the ongoing UN negotiations in Copenhagen.

Both Sweden and Denmark announced their contributions this week, of 800 million and 160 million euros, respectively. The UN has called for international funding of ten billion US dollars (seven billion euros) yearly from 2010 to 2012.

The summit is also to address whether the union should raise its present pledge to cut down greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

According to Danish daily Politiken, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, Poland's minister for European affairs, has insisted that the target "cannot be raised without a study on the economic consequences".

Whatever the result of the debate, it is unlikely that any decision on the issue will be announced this week. The union is expected to hide its cards until high-level negotiations in Copenhagen next week.