DENMARK: George Soros tells Copenhagen conference he has found way to unlock climate finance.

Record ID: 259809

  • Title: DENMARK: George Soros tells Copenhagen conference he has found way to unlock climate finance.
  • Date: 11th December 2009
  • Summary: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (DECEMBER 10, 2009) (REUTERS) DELEGATES ARRIVING OUTSIDE "BELLA" CONFERENCE CENTRE, VENUE OF COP15 CLIMATE CONFERENCE COUPLE DRESSED IN TRADITIONAL SOUTH AMERICAN COSTUMES WALKING PAST MEMBERS OF YOUNG FRIENDS OF THE EARTH HOLDING UP BANNER READING "DEMAND CLIMATE JUSTICE" FRIENDS OF THE EARTH ACTIVISTS CARRYING BALLOONS WALKING PAST ACTIVISTS HOLD
  • Embargoed: 26th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Denmark
  • Country: Denmark
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Economic News
  • Reuters ID: LVA2RPRPN51Q8BTQWR0QBF5Y1OJH
  • Story Text: Billionaire financier George Soros says the Copenhagen climate conference could break down if not enough money is invested in helping developing countries.
    Delegates arriving for the fourth day of talks at the Copenhagen climate conference were met by small groups of chanting protesters on Thursday (December 10), demanding that more is done to fight climate change.
    Shouting "Up your targets" and holding a banner reading "Demand Climate Justice," a handful of members from Young Friends of the Earth demanded the European Union take more action.
    "We are shouting at the EU (European Union) which is meeting today and we want that they take a stronger position in fighting climate change," said Christian Debono, an activist from Malta.
    Inside the conference centre, billionaire financier George Soros told Reuters he had found a way to unlock a Copenhagen stalemate on climate finance, using International Monetary Fund assets.
    U.N. talks in the Danish capital, meant to agree the outline of a new climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, are stuck on splitting the bill to cut carbon emissions.
    Soros said developed countries could invest a portion of their 283 billion USD IMF special drawing rights in carbon-cutting projects in developing nations.
    "The amounts that are currently available are not sufficient. We are talking about ten billion dollars for the next year, for the next few years. I don't think that the developing world will find that satisfactory," he said.
    He said more than one hundred billion dollars a year would be needed to fund projects in poorer countries.
    "The whole conference might break down because of this and this one hundred billion fund I think would just turn this conference from failure to success," he added.
    The projects themselves would pay the interest on the proposed 100 billion USD to be spent over the next decade, and IMF gold reserves would guarantee the principle and interest.
    Soros acknowledged a series of obstacles to his proposal, including U.S. Congress approval, IMF director approval and a global carbon price.
    "I'm myself investing and actually, I would say that I'm speculating that there will be a price on carbon," Soros predicted.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register