WASHINGTON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched a 50-million-euro (66-million-dollar) fund on Tuesday to tackle climate change.

    The Carbon Fund for Europe (CFE) is designed to help European countries meet their commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), said the World Bank in a statement.

    The fund will purchase greenhouse gas emission reductions through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) from climate-friendly investment projects from either bank's portfolio as well as self-standing projects.

    The CDM and JI are flexible mechanisms of the Protocol, that, under strict conditions, allow industrialized countries to fulfill some of their greenhouse gas emission-reduction commitments through projects in the developing world and in countries with economies in transition.

    Four governments and one company make up the 50-million-euro (66-million-dollar) carbon fund. They include: Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Flemish Region and Statkraft Carbon Invest AS (Norway).

    The CFE will be the 10th carbon fund managed by the World Bank which altogether total more than 2 billion dollars. ¡¡