The European commission yesterday unveiled a €50m plan to provide clean energy in developing countries as part of a UN plan to provide sustainable energy for all by 2030.

The Guardian reports that commission president José Manuel Barroso said that the EU would aim to mobilise additional monetary support to back new investments for developing countries in the run-up to June's Rio+20 conference on sustainable development.

Theparliament.com adds that Barroso said, "This will help those developing countries that "opt in" to the UN sustainable energy for all initiative and commit to the necessary reforms to catalyse and leverage investment.

"Because it is clear that aid alone is not enough, we need the private sector on board and a strong commitment of our partner."

His comments came after a meeting in Brussels with Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the UN.