The finance ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) club of rich nations said they supported multilateral funds proposed by the United States, Japan and Britain aimed at helping emerging countries afford cleaner technology.

They said the private sector also had a key role to play in tackling global warming by making substantial investments into activities that cut the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change.

"We are convinced that urgent and concerted action is needed and accept our responsibility to show leadership in tackling climate change," the G8 powers said in their joint statement after two days of talks in Osaka, western Japan.

They added the climate investment funds, which aim to raise billions of dollars after their launch in July, were supposed to help emerging countries grow their economies while addressing global warming.

The G8 said the funds would increase "public and private finance for the deployment of clean technologies, the prevention of deforestation and development of climate resilient economies in developing countries."

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has urged rich nations to contribute up to 10 billion dollars to the initiative, saying Saturday it was a "critical" G8 effort to cut rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.

Paulson said Washington had asked the US Congress to authorise an injection of two billion dollars into one of the climate funds over the next three years.

But some environmental activists have questioned whether the funds are the best way to help the developing world, which prizes economic growth to lift its citizens out of poverty.

"The world's most impoverished communities are hit first and worst by climate change and lack the resources needed for adaptation," British charity Oxfam said in a statement after the two days of talks here.

"Money that is being pledged to tackle climate change is being diverted from already promised aid and donors are offering the money as loans to be repaid with interest."

The United States is the only major developed economy to reject the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that the landmark environmental plan is unfair as it makes no demands on fast-growing emerging economies.

Experts have warned of the potentially huge economic and human cost of climate change and rising sea levels, with time fast running out to reduce the threat.

The G8 meeting gathered the top finance officials from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

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