'With less than 90 days before Copenhagen we need to make serious progress in these negotiations. That is why the commission is putting the first meaningful proposal on the table on how we might finance (the fight against) climate change,' European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

'The sums involved are potentially significant - both ambitious and fair - but will only get higher if we delay,' Barroso said.

While Europe should show leadership, Barroso said 'everyone must make a contribution' to the global fight against climate change.

The EU was the first major economic bloc to commit itself to substantial greenhouse gas emission cuts - by at least a fifth below their 1990 levels by 2020 - but global players have yet to agree on how to share the burden of fighting climate change.

'Now we must break the impasse in the Copenhagen negotiations. That is why the commission is putting forward a balanced blueprint for financing the necessary action by developing countries to limit their emissions growth as well as their adaptation to climate change,' said Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.