Luxembourg - European Union finance ministers failed Tuesday to reach a deal on how to pay for climate change action in the developing world, diplomats said. Marathon talks in Luxembourg ended without an agreement, with the discussions now set to resume at next week's summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
The European Commission says the world's richer nations should finance poorer nations to the tune of 100 billion euros (149 billion dollars) per year by 2020 to help them fight global warming. Wealthy nations should also provide fast-start funds worth several billion euros between 2010 and 2013.
But Poland and other Eastern member states reaffirmed their opposition to the idea that the EU's contributions should be shared out between them on the basis of a combination of emission levels and wealth.
One diplomat said the problems encountered in Luxembourg highlighted the difficulties involved in reaching a global deal on climate change at UN talks due to take place in Copenhagen in December.
