An emergency summit of 10 members of the African Union has agreed on an amount of money to demand as compensation for the impact of climate change during next month's international talks in Copenhagen.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who announced the decision Wednesday after talks in capital Addis Ababa, said Africa should be compensated for the damage caused by developed countries to its growth.
However, he refused to disclose the amount to be demanded and expressed doubt if Africa's demands would be met. An earlier draft resolution by African Union panel said the compensation should reach $67 billion by 2020.
Determining how much affluent countries including EU members, Japan, the U.S. and Australia should reduce emissions is one of the hurdles when representatives from major countries meet in the Danish capital next month to negotiate a new UN treaty that replaces the Kyoto Protocol to curb greenhouse gases for 2012 and beyond.
Developing nations have called on developed countries to reduce their emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020, evoking little positive response.
Studies show that African nations are the least responsible for carbon emissions but that they will suffer the most.
The UN Environment Program has warned that as many as 250 million Africans could be facing water shortages due to the repercussions of climate change.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.