Developing countries criticized wealthy nations for their lack of generosity at the conclusion of the UN climate talks in POZNAN, Poland. They expressed disappointment in the small size of the Adaptation Fund, which only amounted to $80 million. Colombian Environment Minister Juan Lozano described the talks as saddening and disappointing, emphasizing that the suffering of those affected by climate change was not adequately addressed. The talks, which lasted from Dec. 1-12, raised concerns about the impact of global economic challenges on funding for climate initiatives. Indian representative Prodipto Ghosh expressed that this is one of the most heartbreaking moments he has experienced in his 12 years of attending U.N. climate meetings. Several other countries, such as Brazil, Costa Rica, and Maldives, echoed similar sentiments. Many delegates are hopeful that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will implement more aggressive climate policies. At the talks in Poland, environment ministers established rules for the Adaptation Fund, which aims to assist developing nations in constructing flood defenses, creating drought-resistant crops, and issuing storm warnings. Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki, the host of the talks, highlighted the launch of the fund as Poznan's greatest accomplishment. The fund is currently at $80 million but has the potential to increase to $300 million annually by 2012. According to U.N. projections, developing nations will require billions of dollars each year by 2030 to address climate change. Poland spent 24 million euros ($31.84 million) to host the conference from December 1-12. Developing nations accused wealthier countries of hindering an agreement in Poznan for a funding mechanism that could generate around $2 billion annually, leading to a postponement of the issue until 2009. Yvo de Boer, who leads the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, stated that the discussions accomplished their goals but acknowledged there was some discontent. He mentioned that only half of the work for Copenhagen had been completed. However, he noted that Poznan successfully reviewed progress towards a comprehensive new international climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol in December 2009. Environmentalists had a different perspective. Stephanie Tunmore from the Greenpeace environmental group expressed deep disappointment with the lack of progress in the meeting. She stated that taking stock of previous actions was not challenging, as there was little achieved in 2008. Environmentalists criticized Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand for hindering progress and not setting ambitious targets to reduce emissions. In contrast, Mexico, China, and South Africa presented proposals to address the issue of increasing emissions. European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas stated that discussions were progressing well, with everyone agreeing that addressing climate change is in line with addressing the economic crisis. European Union ministers in Poznan were pleased after EU leaders in Brussels reached an agreement to reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, despite having to make significant concessions to east European countries. The Adaptation Fund, which raises funds through a 2 percent levy on U.N. projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developing nations, has collected 60 million euros ($80 million) thus far.