"Nations Meet On Climate Cash, UN Sees Long Haul"

"About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the United Nations warned them of a long haul to slow global warming.

Environment ministers and senior officials in Geneva were reviewing whether rich nations, hit by austerity cuts, are keeping a promise of $30 billion in 'new and additional' climate aid for 2010-12 made at the U.N.'s Copenhagen summit.

'The funds are critical' to build trust between rich and poor damaged in Copenhagen, Christiana Figueres, the U.N.'s climate chief, told Reuters in an interview.

About 120 countries in Copenhagen also pledged to increase aid for developing nations to $100 billion aid a year from 2020, tapping sources such as carbon taxes or more costly plane tickets.

Figueres said cash could be a key to unlock progress on other climate problems, such as sharing clean technologies or protecting carbon-storing forests at the next meeting of environment ministers in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29-December 10."

Alister Doyle reports for Reuters September 3, 2010.