The United Nations is calling for a massive influx of aid to fund the development of renewable energy sources in poorer countries. The UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs says developing nations will need between $500 billion and $600 billion annually to drop their reliance on the dirty fuels that cause global warming. The agency’s director, Rob Vos, said the proposal should figure in global talks ahead of the major climate summit in Copenhagen later this year.

Rob Vos: “What we are arguing in the report is that it is possible to promote development while saving the planet, but it will need enormous adjustments in the global economy and in turn will require a change in the mindset of the policymakers and their constituencies worldwide. And hopefully that change of mindset will be the thing that will drive us to seal a good deal in Copenhagen.”