Clinton boosts climate aid pledge at summit on the brink

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday pledged that the U.S. would join other wealthy nations in together providing $100 billion annually in climate finance to developing countries by 2020  as negotiators try and salvage the Copenhagen summit.

With two days remaining, major divisions between rich and poor nations persist as heads of state arrive for the talks, which are aimed at crafting a political accord on emissions curbs and international financing to battle climate change.

Clinton's offer goes beyond prior U.S. pledges to help provide $10 billion annually in the 2010-2012 period for developing nations to curb emissions and adapt to rising sea level and other changes.

But Clinton said at a news conference the pledge is contingent upon China agreeing to transparency measures that allow other nations to ensure the world's biggest emitter is following through on vows to curb greenhouse gases, according to Reuters and other news services.

Update: High-level officials at the talks are sounding quite pessimistic about the prospects for reaching a truly substantive agreement, according to the Washington Post, Reuters and other outlets. It's unclear if Clinton's pledge can help break the logjam.