WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The finance chiefs of the United States, Britain and Japan on Thursday urged other governments to join their efforts to launch a multibillion-dollar fund to help developing countries switch to clean energy technologies.
"By pooling our efforts to support a new clean technology fund, administered by the World Bank, we can help developing countries bridge the gap between dirty technology and clean technology," they wrote. "The fund will support publicly and privately financed projects that deploy technologies that can cut emissions, increase efficiency and save energy."
President George W. Bush has pledged $2 billion to the fund over the next three years, while Britain has pledged part of its 800 million-pound ($1.6 billion) Environmental Transformation Fund and Japan has announced the creation of a $10 billion financial mechanism to support developing countries committed to combating climate change.
According to World Bank estimates, the cost difference between lower-emitting new technologies and older, dirtier technologies for power plants expected to be built in developing countries by 2030 is about $30 billion.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by James Dalgleish)
