Washington  - The World Bank on Tuesday approved the creation of multi-billion-dollar global funds to help poor countries tackle global warming and boost investment in renewable technologies.

The Clean Technology Fund is expected to receive at least 5 billion dollars in pledges and will provide a combination of loans and grants to projects that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.

A separate and smaller Climate Investment Fund will conduct pilot projects to help developing countries deal with already-existing and expected impacts of climate change around the world.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the two funds were a "key element" of the global lender's response to climate change, which has threatened the bank's core goal of tackling global poverty.

The funds are not expected to be fully operational until the end of the year, the bank said. US President George W Bush has pledged 2 billion dollars over the next three years for the technology fund, while Japan has offered 1 billion dollars. (dpa)