EU nations commit to €2.4bn fund

EU leaders agreed to commit €2.4 billion a year until 2012 to help poorer countries combat global warming, as they sought to rescue their image as climate change innovators and bolster the talks in Copenhagen.

All 27 members of the European Union agreed to commit money to a short-term fund for poorer countries, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said after two days of difficult talks at a summit in Brussels.

Britain, France and Germany will each contribute about 20% of the money.

But with many cash-strapped eastern EU states balking, donations by some were thought to be only a token to reach a unanimous agreement.

Critics said the EU was merely repacking aid promised earlier in different forms and sidestepping key climate change issues to produce a favourable headline.