Oct. 1--Thailand may apply for funding from the $6.2-billion Climate Investment Funds, which help developing countries move toward becoming lower-carbon economies, says the World Bank.

Thailand will likely decide late next month whether to apply to the fund, said Warren Evans, director of the Environment Department at the World Bank.

Thai government agencies are studying the issue, led by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and with guidelines from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, he said.

"There are discussions going on now looking at investments that the government might take. The decisions are expected to be made some time between the end of October and December," said Mr Evans.

Donor countries have pledged more than $6.2 billion to the CIFs, which were set up last year and are managed and implemented by the World Bank together with the various development banks.

The two current CIFs are The Clean Technology Fund, to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies, and the Strategic Climate Fund, to help vulnerable developing nations adapt to climate change.

Egypt, Mexico and Turkey are among the countries that have already applied to the funds.

The World Bank is currently helping Thailand develop opportunities for investing in renewable energies and clean technologies in transport, said Mr Evans.

The bank also provides funding and technical support and researches low-carbon growth practices in different countries.

The bank's preliminary findings put the cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries at between $75 billion and $100 billion per year for the period from 2010 to 2050.

The global assessment looks at the costs of adapting to climate change if the world's temperature rises by 2C.

Under the dry scenario of climate change, the cost is estimated at $75 billion per year while a wet climate would cost $100 billion, he said.

In both scenarios, East Asia and the Pacific would face heavier costs than the rest of the world, said Mr Evans.

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