March 21, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1428

BRUSSELS, March 20: The World Bank is to manage a new 50-million-euro ($66-million) European fund to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in emerging economies, it said on Tuesday.

The fund, which will also rely on expertise from the European Investment Bank, is backed by the governments of Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, the Belgian region of Flanders as well as Norwegian power company Statkraft.

In exchange for spending on emissions-reducing projects in emerging economies, the investors will receive so-called carbon credits as foreseen by the Kyoto Protocol.

The World Bank already manages 10 similar funds with a total value of more than $2 billion.—AFP