US hopes nations will raise $30 bln in climate aid

The United States is hopeful industrialized nations can raise $30 billion in aid that was pledged last year to help developing countries fight global climate change.

U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said Wednesday the United States, the European Union and Japan are working hard toward coming up with the funding, which was promised over a three-year period starting this year.

"I'm confident a number approaching $30 billion ... will be provided," Stern told reporters in Beijing. "A lot of work is being done to put that together."

The pledge was among the few concrete results that came out of a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen last …