Swiss Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger says that Switzerland could add another SFr50 million ($47.74 million) to help developing countries fight climate change
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This would be in addition to the SFr80 million already pledged by Bern.
Leuenberger, who symbolically travelled to the Copenhagen climate conference in Denmark by train, said the financing would depend on the results of the conference and money pledged by other states.
He added that he did not wish to speculate on any agreement in the Danish capital.
“We will soon know if our hopes have come to fruition. The question is if the pledges made will be mandatory or not.”
Leuenberger noted that the climate change issue was a question of existence.
“It’s about water and food, war and peace, refugees and misery, life and death,” he told a plenary session.
He noted that European countries, including Switzerland, would spearhead the CO2 battle by trying to reduce emissions by 20 per cent.
“We will go even further and reduce our emission by 30 per cent because we know that other industrialised countries and emerging nations are also going to make pledges,” he added.
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