UNITED NATIONS (AP) — World leaders are promising billions of dollars to take better care of planet Earth at a United Nations summit on climate changes.

The non-binding pledges are coming in response to a challenge from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. At the opening of the one-day summit, Ban said the world needs to set a new course for a warming globe and reverse the rise of heat-trapping gases.

By mid-morning, world leaders had made pledges of at least $5 billion to help the world become more sustainable. And the European Union offered a rare proposal — specific targets beyond 2020.

The EU says its member nations will cut greenhouse gases so that by 2030 they would be 40 percent below the 1990 level. The vow also calls for using renewable energy for 27 percent of the bloc’s power needs and to increase energy efficiency by 30 percent.

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