$10 bln pledge "a drop in the bucket"

As it enters its sixth day, the Copenhagen summit is beginning to show signs of strain as delegates from developed and developing nations face off over their countries' respective obligations. Leaders and experts have now spent almost a week in Denmark's capital discussing ways to save the planet from the potential ravages of global warming.

On Friday, the EU pledged 10 billion US dollars over the next three years to help developing countries tackle climate change. While some see the gesture from Brussels as vital to securing an agreement at the increasingly contentious talks, others question whether the amount is enough given the stakes involved.

According to many in the developing world, 10 billion US dollars over three years is a mere drop in the bucket of the amount needed.

The European Commission once estimated that developing countries need 7 to 10 billion US dollars annually to tackle climate change, and the whole world will need 300 billion US dollars by 2020.

Yvo De Boer, UNFCC Executive Secretary, said, "Thirty billion is not enough to address a long-term climate change response. We know that you're going to need, over time, in the order of 200 billion per year for mitigation and perhaps as much as 100 billion per year for adaptation."

As some developed countries in the EU are just recovering from the severe economic recession, finance is understandably a sensitive issue. The European Union wants the United States to make the same pledge.

Artur Runge-Metzger, Chief Climate Negotiator of European Commission, said, "On average, the income in the EU, the average income level is lower than that of the US, so we would encourage the US to do at least as much as us and if possible, more than us."

Greenhouse gas emissions are considered one of the culprits behind global warming. During their years of rapid development, rich countries contributed much of the atmospheric CO2 now at issue. The EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 over 1990 levels. The United States has promised a 17 percent reduction by 2020 below 2005 levels. But developing countries demand a 40 percent reduction by 2020 from developed countries.

The Kyoto Protocol states that developed countries have an obligation to provide developing countries with financing and techniques to help them deal with challenges presented by climate change. The Protocol expires in 2012, and the world is still seeking alternatives to replace the document. With so much at stake, the ongoing Copenhagen conference may have a difficult time meeting expectations. As matters stand, pledges from developed countries still lag far behind what the world requires.