DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28, 2010 -- UPI


International support for combating climate change has slipped only slightly during the recession, a report presented in Davos, Switzerland, said Thursday.

The unexpected resilience in funding was partly the result of economic stimulus programs that leaned on green energy initiatives and partly the result of the Copenhagen Accord of December 2009 in which the international community pledged $100 billion to help developing countries, a statement issued by the World Economic Forum said.

Funding to combat global warming fell 6 percent from $155 billion in 2008 to $145 billion in 2009, said the report entitled "Green Investing, 2010: Policy Mechanisms to Bridge the Financing Gap."

A separate report said there was still a huge gap in funding needed to restrict global warming to an average temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius.

The report, "Green Investing: Toward a Low Carbon Energy Infrastructure" said $500 billion per year would be required to keep climate change below that target.

"The world needs a substantial increase in private investment flows into clean energy and energy efficiency if we want to avoid severe impacts of climate change," said Jack Ehnes, Chief Executive Officer, CalSTRS and a member of the World Economic Forum's Expert Committee.

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