Africa agrees on secret climate damages demand

By Barry Malone

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African leaders agreed on Tuesday on how much cash to demand from the rich world to compensate for the impact of climate change on the continent but kept the figure secret ahead of next month's Copenhagen talks.

The United Nations summit in Denmark will try to agree on how to counter climate change and come up with a post-Kyoto treaty protocol to curb emissions.

"We have set a minimum beyond which we will not go," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who will represent Africa at the talks, told reporters. "But I am not in a position to tell you what that minimum figure will be."

Exhaustive preparatory talks since 2007 have failed to solve splits between rich and poor countries or find extra funds to help developing nations to pay for expensive technology to ensure they do not over pollute as their economies grow.

"There are many calculations including up to the $100 billion (a year) mark that has been set by some experts. We will be very flexible," Meles said.

Poor nations want rich countries to cut emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. But some in the West complain that such cuts are not realistic, especially so soon after the global economic downturn.

So far, promises by the rich fall short, at cuts of about 11 to 15 percent.

THREATENED WALKOUT