US and Japan propose climate change funds

The global clean tech industry could receive a major boost over the coming months as both the US and Japan revealed details for multi-billion dollar clean tech funds.

Speaking in his last State of the Union address yesterday, US president George W Bush confirmed plans to commit $2bn over the next three years to a new international fund designed to promote clean energy technologies and mitigate climate change risks in developing economies. "Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources," Bush said.

Speaking ahead of the US-hosted meeting of the world's largest polluters in Hawaii this week, Bush expressed confidence that an international agreement to tackle climate change could be agreed. But he reiterated the US belief that such an agreement would only work if all major economies are included and none receive "a free ride".

He also reiterated his argument that technology rather than mandatory emission targets held the key to tackling climate change. "To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology," Bush said.

The news came as reports emerged in Japan that the country was looking to work with the US and Britain to launch a new World Bank managed fund designed to help developing countries adopt energy saving technologies.

According to reports in Japanese Paper Jiji Press the three countries plan to unveil the proposal as a meeting of the financial chiefs of the Group of Seven industrialised nations next month in Tokyo.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda outlined plans for a new $10bn five-year "Cool Earth Partnership" fund designed to support developing economies efforts to tackle climate change.

According to Reuters' reports, the fund will be financed using public and private cash and will invest $8bn in climate change mitigation and $2bn in helping economies switch to clean energy technologies. "We will extend the hand of assistance to developing countries suffering severe adverse impacts as a result of climate change," Fukuda said.

Experts welcomed the creation of the new funds, but warned that it would be hard to judge their effectiveness without more details about how the money will be distributed and where it will be invested.

"Combined together these various funds represent pretty significant sums, but the devil in the detail," said Richard White, analyst at investment research firm Library House. "There is a fear that in some senses this is a political gesture when what is needed are binding targets that would then drive this investment anyway."

However, White said that the new funds would inject still more confidence into the already booming clean tech sector. "All the signals for the sector remain positive," he added.