BRUSSELS -- European Union leaders agreed at summit in Brussels on October 30 to contribute up to 50 billion euros ($74 billion) in annual aid to help developing nations adapt to climate change by 2020.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Europeans "now have a very strong negotiating position" to seek tight greenhouse gas emissions cuts at UN talks in Copenhagen in December.
However, no cost targets for individual EU nations were announced, and EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso suggested that the amount was conditional on non-EU nations' actions.
Barroso described the agreement as a "breakthrough" on climate change.
"Regarding climate change, this was an important breakthrough, which brings new momentum. We can now look the rest of the world in the eyes and say, 'We Europeans, we have done our job. We are ready for Copenhagen,'" Barroso said.
The European Union had already agreed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Europeans "now have a very strong negotiating position" to seek tight greenhouse gas emissions cuts at UN talks in Copenhagen in December.
However, no cost targets for individual EU nations were announced, and EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso suggested that the amount was conditional on non-EU nations' actions.
Barroso described the agreement as a "breakthrough" on climate change.
"Regarding climate change, this was an important breakthrough, which brings new momentum. We can now look the rest of the world in the eyes and say, 'We Europeans, we have done our job. We are ready for Copenhagen,'" Barroso said.
The European Union had already agreed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
