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Soros proposes $100b for developing nations' climate efforts

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-10 21:05

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COPENHAGEN: US billionaire investor George Soros proposed Thursday that rich nations provide 100 billion US dollars in additional funding for developing nations' projects to combat climate change by using the foreign exchange reserves they received from the International Monetary Fund.

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The move would jumpstart investment in low carbon energy sources, reforestation efforts, rainforest protection, land use reform and adaptation programs, the hedge fund manager said in a press release issued in Copenhagen, where negotiators from more than 190 countries are engaging in UN-led climate talks.

The rich nations can provide the money by donating recently issued Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to a green fund, he said.

"This is a win-win opportunity for developed and developing countries to work together," he said. "Since the funding is available now, it can have an immediate impact."

The IMF, a 186-nation Washington-based lending institution, issued a total of 283 billion US dollars in SDRs in September to boost global liquidity as part of its efforts to tackle the international financial crisis. More than 150 billion dollars in these SDRs went to the 15 biggest developed nations.

"This sits largely untouched in their reserve accounts, leaving a surplus that could be donated to the fund," the press release said.