The European Union is rumored to be preparing just a token handout for climate action in poor countries for the next three years, with no guarantee that this money is going to come on top of existing aid commitments, warns Oxfam International.

EU heads of state and government are meeting tomorrow in Brussels to hammer out final details of their position for the global climate talks taking place in Copenhagen. Finance for developing countries to tackle climate change has emerged as one of the key obstacles in the negotiations.

A key question facing EU leaders will be whether to move forward on financing by putting a concrete sum on the table for the money it will provide up to 2020. At the end of October, the EU said €22-50bn would be needed in public financing for poor countries, and offered to pay its fair share, but stopped short of saying how much. The EU is still to clarify whether this money should come on top of, or be diverted from, promises already made to poor countries on development aid.

Oxfam says the EU has the potential to propel negotiations forward by putting 35 billion euros (50 billion dollars) per year from 2013 on the table to help developing countries cope with global warming in the long run. This money must come on top of existing commitments made by rich countries to provide 0.7% of national income for development aid. Rich countries must not force poor people to choose between building flood shelters and hospitals.

The EU is prevaricating on its commitment to long-term financing, and preparing a much smaller sum to put on the table in Copenhagen for just the next 3 years, consisting only of recycled commitments already made to developing countries.

Big developing countries such as China have signaled that they are willing to increase -and formalize- already significant pledges to reduce emissions if rich countries provide the necessary support.

Li Ning, Oxfam Hong Kong climate change program officer, said: "EU leaders can set the pace of negotiations in Copenhagen with their decisions on financing. They must stop prevaricating on their commitments to big, long-term money for poor countries. Offering just a token handout for the next 3 years made up of recycled promises won’t achieve the breakthrough in talks we need."

"Putting a concrete sum for the EU's fair share of the long-term finance needed, and guaranteeing that this won’t just re-brand existing commitments, could be a game-changer."

Oxfam estimates that at least 75 million fewer children are likely to attend school and 8.6 million fewer people could have access to HIV/AIDS treatment if aid that would otherwise have been spent to meet the 0.7% commitment on health and education is diverted to tackle climate change. Cannibalizing aid promises to pay for climate change will condemn the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to failure.