Washington/Port-of-Spain - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday proposed a 10-billion-dollar fund aimed at helping poor countries invest in anti-climate-change measures. His announcement came as Queen Elizabeth II told a gathering of Commonwealth countries in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago that member countries had an opportunity to take a "lead" in the international response to global warming.
Coming just days before the major climate change summit in Denmark, the so-called Copenhagen Launch Fund was announced by Brown at the summit. The money, including 800 million pounds (1.3 billion dollars) from Britain, would be contributed by richer countries by 2012, an official at Downing Street said.
"The threat to our environment is not a new concern. But it is now a global challenge which will continue to affect the security and stability of millions for years to come," Elizabeth said.
"Many of those affected are among the most vulnerable, and many of the people least well able to withstand the adverse effects of climate change live in the Commonwealth," she said.
If there was any doubt that climate change took centre stage at the biennial Commonwealth gathering, the speakers' list included the unusual addition of someone from outside the organization - French President Nicolas Sarkozy - who is advocating strongly for an agreement at Copenhagen.
In addition, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will be pressing the cause at the summit.
Brown expects the summit to be a "springboard" towards getting an international deal through.
"It will prove the worth of the Commonwealth, that we can bring together countries to work together for a common solution," Brown said.
The proposed 10-billion-dollar fund would be separate from a 165- billion-dollar Brown proposed earlier this year that would come from a mix of private and public funding from the developed as well as developing countries.
As envisioned, half of the Copenhagen Launch Fund money would help developing countries reduce greenhouse gases with "payment for results," according to a statement on the Downing Street website.
The other half would be used to help poorer countries adapt to climate change.
I think it is very important that the deadlock is broken. That means that the poorer countries must have an understanding that the richer countries will help them adapt to climate change and make the necessary adjustments in their economies," Brown said in a statement.
The United States and China, the world's largest producers of carbon emissions blamed on global warming and the longest holdouts on commitments to reducing carbon dioxide, both moved forward this week with more solid concessions.
The Commonwealth's 53 members include Britain, Australia and Canada, emerging economic giants like India and South Africa and poor developing states, some of which are most vulnerable to global warming.
The Maldives and Bangladesh, for example, are low-lying countries that stand to lose the most as ocean waters rise from ice cap melt.
