China demands timetable to $123b climate aid for developing world

DOHA (REUTERS) - China led developing nations on Wednesday in demanding rich countries give details of a promised surge in aid to US$100 billion (S$123 billion) a year by 2020 to help the poor cope with global warming.

But most rich nations, facing economic slowdown at home that cut overall development aid in 2011, said they were unable to stake out a timetable for rising aid at deadlocked global climate talks.

"The core issue is finance," Mr Xie Zhenhua, head of China's delegation, told a news conference of a main track of the Nov 26 to Dec 7 talks among 200 nations in Doha, Qatar, that is a big block to a modest deal to keep United Nation (UN) climate efforts on track.

He said a deal on finance would "create very good conditions for the settlement of other issues" in Doha, which is also seeking a symbolic extension of the UN's Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gas emissions by rich nations beyond 2012.