In the speech launching The Road to Copenhagen - a manifesto for a global climate deal, the Prime Minister proposed a way forward for developed and developing countries to agree new mechanisms to pay for tackling climate change.

He urged countries to work together on a global figure of around US$100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries reduce their emissions, tackle deforestation and adapt to the climate change already being experienced. He also committed the UK to providing new finance additional to existing Official Development Assistance commitments.

In advance of the G8 and Major Economies Summits in Italy next month, Gordon Brown urged his fellow leaders to agree on a new financing system to provide predictable and additional assistance to developing countries. This would comprise investment flowing through a global carbon market, new mechanisms to raise public finance and a limited proportion of Official Development Assistance.

Notes:

The UK argues the global deal on climate change must be:

• Ambitious – limit climate change to 2 degrees, by making sure global greenhouse gas emissions peak and start to reduce by 2020, and keep on shrinking to reach at most half of their 1990 levels by 2050;
• Effective – keep all countries to their word with strong monitoring, reporting and verification; and let money flow to where it will make most difference by developing carbon markets;
• Fair – support the poorest countries to cut their emissions and adapt to climate change.