Poor countries need trillions of dollars to go green. A long-shot effort aims to generate the cash

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A major, long-shot effort is gearing up to mobilize money to save Planet Earth by helping poorer countries go greener. Climate experts say trillions of dollars are needed to roll out forestry projects and renewable energies like solar and wind in the developing world, but governments just don’t have that kind of cash. So U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and multilateral lenders like the World Bank want to get creative. They have a plan to combine carbon markets with cash generated from private companies. Carbon markets already exist and come with a good deal of baggage, so the plan has plenty of naysayers. Kerry and other supporters say their plan will avoid problems of the past and generate billions that can pay for a green transition.