The European Commission on Tuesday announced the creation of a fund to help developing nations battle climate change, putting in 50 million euros (69 million dollars) itself to kick it off.
The money, earmarked for 2008-2010, brings the total amount of EU funding for the fight against global warming to around 300 million euros, said EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel.
"This is just a start," he told a press conference. "Other resources are necessary to respond to the scale of the needs," he added, calling on EU member states to boosts the funds. On a wider scale Brussels is also proposing the creation of "a global climate change alliance" reaching out to the countries "least responsible for, but most affected by global warming," the Commission said, in particular less developed nations and small island states.
The aid would notably be available for preparing for natural disasters, tackling desertification and reducing emissions from deforestation. The Commission added that the battle against global warming would be a high-tech one.
"New technology is only one way of developing towards a sustainable society without hampering development and quality of life," it said in a statement. The Commission also wants climate issues to be more systematically included in development discussions with poorer nations. The issue is one of the themes of the EU-Africa summit to be held in Lisbon in December.