At the European Union summit, European Governments committed a total of 2.6 billion US Dollars (1.8 billion euro) a year for 2010 – 2012 for the short term climate fund, or a 3 year total of 7.9 billion Dollars (5.4 billion euro), according to a French Official. That official said the figure so far falls short of EU target of 3.2 billion dollars (2.2 billion euro) a year of the period.Developing nations are pressing the US, European, Japanese and others for more upfront money and for assurances about long term financing.Industrialized countries so far are talking only about 3 years of funding at 10 billion Dollars a year. Much of that would go toward training, planning and getting a fix on needs.UN negotiators are preparing a 25 billion Dollars proposal to save tropical forest in more than 10 countries.

Trees soak up greenhouse gas, and their destruction is responsible for almost a fifth of global emission each year. The plan is to reward investors, for instance, by letting them earn carbon emission credit in return for saving trees.The leaders failed Thursday to come up with a firm figure for the fund, an embarrassing setback for a bloc that was long at the forefront of the fight against global warming. Smaller eastern EU states were reluctant to donate as they struggle with rising government debt and high unemployment in the wake of the financial crisis.Today, Friday 11th, EU leaders reached a final figure of 3.6 billion US Dollars a year for the next 3 years, with Britain, France and Germany each contributing about 20%. Britain is pushing to raise the figure higher at the Copenhagen talks.The climate money is meant to go toward a global 10 billion US dollars annual fund for short term help to poor countries, particularly in Africa, adapt to the effect of global warming before a new climate treaty being negotiated in Copenhagen comes into force in 2012.The future of Kyoto Protocol is a major issue at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. UN climate chief, Yvo Boer, is in no doubt: it must survive. He said the Kyoto Protocol that regulate international efforts to combat global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emission, should continue at least until another global climate change treaty can be negotiated and brought into effect.On Friday, the Japanese Environment Minister Sakihito Orama threatened to back out of the country’s pledge if the Kyoto Protocol is extended without setting emission reduction goals for the United States and China.Japan’s Government has been criticized for its ambitious climate targets by domestic business groups, ranging from power generation and steel to cement.