Brussels:
Two years ago, the EU was ahead of the pack when it pledged to cut 20 percent of emissions from 1990 levels by 2020 and to increase that to 30 percent if other big polluters made similar promises.
Japan and Russia have now outpaced Europe with 25 percent cuts.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel put pressure on the US to raise its current offer.
"What is on the table now, and what America and other countries are offering, is in our opinion, not suitable," she said.
The US is promising a 3 percent reduction from 1990 levels.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the offer "puts Europe in a leadership role in Copenhagen," where international negotiators are seeking a long-term way to slow the warming of the planet.
All 27 members of the European Union will commit money to a short-term fund for poorer countries, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said after two days of difficult talks at a summit in Brussels.
The leaders failed on 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.
Yet on Friday, EU leaders reached a final figure of 2.4 (b) billion euros (3.6 (b) billion US dollars) a year for the next three years, with Britain, France and Germany each contributing about 20 percent.
Britain is pushing to raise the figure higher at the Copenhagen talks.
Donations by some EU countries are thought to be only a token to reach a unanimous agreement.
The climate money is meant to go toward a global 10 (b) billion US dollars annual fund for short-term help to poor countries, particularly in Africa, adapt to the effects of global warming before a new climate treaty being negotiated in Copenhagen comes into force in 2012.
The climate change money would help poorer countries build coastal protection, modify or shift crops threatened by drought, build water supplies and irrigation systems, preserve forests, improve health care to deal with diseases spread by warming, and move from fossil fuel to low-carbon energy systems such as solar and wind power.
Critics noted, however, the 10 (b) billion US dollars-a-year aid pales in comparison to the huge stimulus packages and bank bailouts paid by many governments in the wake of the global financial meltdown.
Financier George Soros, speaking on Thursday in Copenhagen, dismissed the 10 (b) billion US dollars figure as inadequate for the scope of change that poor countries need to enact.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Copenhagen talks, which end December 18, should pave the way to an ambitious and legally binding global treaty within six months.
Beyond climate change, EU leaders were also expected to discuss their economies and cutting bankers bonuses.
Regarding Iran, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said he hoped "there won't be a need to impose sanctions and that the international community and Iran can reach a solution."
Japan and Russia have now outpaced Europe with 25 percent cuts.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel put pressure on the US to raise its current offer.
"What is on the table now, and what America and other countries are offering, is in our opinion, not suitable," she said.
The US is promising a 3 percent reduction from 1990 levels.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the offer "puts Europe in a leadership role in Copenhagen," where international negotiators are seeking a long-term way to slow the warming of the planet.
All 27 members of the European Union will commit money to a short-term fund for poorer countries, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said after two days of difficult talks at a summit in Brussels.
The leaders failed on 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.
Yet on Friday, EU leaders reached a final figure of 2.4 (b) billion euros (3.6 (b) billion US dollars) a year for the next three years, with Britain, France and Germany each contributing about 20 percent.
Britain is pushing to raise the figure higher at the Copenhagen talks.
Donations by some EU countries are thought to be only a token to reach a unanimous agreement.
The climate money is meant to go toward a global 10 (b) billion US dollars annual fund for short-term help to poor countries, particularly in Africa, adapt to the effects of global warming before a new climate treaty being negotiated in Copenhagen comes into force in 2012.
The climate change money would help poorer countries build coastal protection, modify or shift crops threatened by drought, build water supplies and irrigation systems, preserve forests, improve health care to deal with diseases spread by warming, and move from fossil fuel to low-carbon energy systems such as solar and wind power.
Critics noted, however, the 10 (b) billion US dollars-a-year aid pales in comparison to the huge stimulus packages and bank bailouts paid by many governments in the wake of the global financial meltdown.
Financier George Soros, speaking on Thursday in Copenhagen, dismissed the 10 (b) billion US dollars figure as inadequate for the scope of change that poor countries need to enact.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Copenhagen talks, which end December 18, should pave the way to an ambitious and legally binding global treaty within six months.
Beyond climate change, EU leaders were also expected to discuss their economies and cutting bankers bonuses.
Regarding Iran, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said he hoped "there won't be a need to impose sanctions and that the international community and Iran can reach a solution."
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