The United States has announced it is prepared to join other rich countries in raising $100bn a year in climate financing for poor countries by 2020 in what observers have commented as a bid to break the negotiations deadlock.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed that the offer was contingent on world leaders reaching a broader climate pact at the UN talks in Copenhagen that are scheduled to come to a close on Friday evening.

She told a press briefing in the Danish capital: 'The United States is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilising $100bn a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries'

'So there should be no doubt about the commitment of the United States to reaching a successful agreement here in Copenhagen and meeting this great global challenge together.'

She said she expected they money would come from public and private sources, including alternative sources of finance and would include a significant focus on forestry and adaptation.

But she added: 'In the absence of an operational agreement that meets the requirement that I outlined there will not be the final commitment that I outlined - at least from the United States.'

She added that any deal would have to include a system for ensuring that pledges to cut carbon emissions are fulfilled. 'If there is not even a commitment to pursue transparency, that's kind of a deal-breaker for us,' she said. 'There has to be a commit to transparency. We have said it consistently.'

And in a specific reference to China, Ms Clinton added: 'It would be hard to imagine, speaking for the United States, that there could be the level of financial commitment that I have just announced in the absence of transparency from the second biggest emitter.'

China later said it was willing to provide details about its actions to control carbon emissions, moving to meet Ms Clinton's demand for verification of China’s promises to fight global warming, according to the COP15 website. Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said that China was ready for 'dialogue and cooperation that is not intrusive, that does not infringe on China's sovereignty'.

Her comments came on the heels of Japan's announcement that it would provide $15bn in public and private money over three years 2012 for developing countries as part of efforts to come up with $10bn a year of fast track funding.

Earlier this year Gordon Brown broke new ground among world leaders in setting out how the world should pay for climate change, and plendged the UK to play its part in a global figure of $100bn a year by 2020. The EU later agreed it’s climate finance position based on the UK figure.

A UK Government spokesperson said: 'It's an important development and very welcome to have the United States on the same page as the UK and the EU in terms of long term climate finance.'

The Daily Telegraph said that Ms Clinton's move would 'widely be seen as grand gesture to force developing countries to sign up to a deal'.

The Guardian newspaper said that Ms Clinton's offer was an attempt by the US to 'assert its leadership' in a bid to save the Copenhagen talks from 'collapse'.

It said the US move was a response to the decision by President Meles Zenawi, who represents the African Union, to put the $100bn figure on the table as a developing country demand. His intervention was described by the conference's official website as a sign that Africa was 'willing to negotiate'.

It also came after Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, criticised the US for what she said was a lack of ambition in its stated emission cuts targets, according to the Financial Times.

AP, the newswire, said the Clinton declaration could 'give a boost to the deadlocked climate talks, which have faltered over disputes between rich and developing countries on greenhouse gas emission cuts and aid to poor countries most affected by climate change'.

The UN official who supervises the talks expressed optimism, according to Bloomberg. 'Hold tight and mind the doors, the cable car is moving again,' Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told reporters.

Related links

US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton, UNited States of America, UNFCCC Webcast  

Clinton warns of 'deal breaker' on $100-billion (U.S.) climate pact, The Globe And Mail 17 December 2009  

Clinton tries to save talks, Yahoo News 17 December 2009

Japan: 15 billion dollars in climate aid, COP15 16 December 2009

Manifesto launch and finance pledge

EU agrees climate finance

Copenhagen climate conference: Hillary Clinton attempts to break deadlock with £100bn offer, Telegraph 17 December 2009

US bids to break Copenhagen deadlock with support for $100bn climate fund, Guardian 17 December

Africa shows a willingness to negotiate, COP15 16 December 2009

US to back 100bn climate financing, Financial Times 17 December 2009  

Clinton: US Would Help Raise Billions on Climate, KMBC-TV 17 December 2009

Climate Deal Hinges on Verifying C02 Cuts, U.S. Says (Update1), Bloomberg 17 December 2009