Aa conservationists warned that marine life is increasingly threatened by acidifying oceans, billionaire financier George Soros yesterday revealed plans to unlock $100 billion in funding to fight climate change.
“I’ve found a way for someone else to pay . . . to mobilise reserves that are lying idle,” he said, calling on developed countries to donate their special drawing rights (SDRs)from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued last year to help them cope with the financial crisis.
He estimated that the 15 richest developed countries hold $150 billion worth of these SDRs, sitting largely untouched in their foreign reserve accounts, and said most of this money could be donated to a fund that would invest in low-carbon energy and rainforest protection.
Frank McDonald, Irish Times, 11 December 2009. Full article.
