G20 nations maintain stimulus

G20: economic stimulus to stay

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Finance officials from rich and developing countries have pledged to maintain emergency support for their economies until recovery is assured and committed themselves to urgent action on tackling climate change.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the "process of growth is now beginning" but warned that ending stimulus measures too early would be damaging to the economy.

He said US jobs figures out Friday (Saturday NZ time) showing unemployment at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent "reinforced that this is still a very tough economic environment."

"If we put the brakes on too quickly, we will weaken the economy and the financial system, unemployment will rise, more businesses will fail, budget deficits will rise, and the ultimate cost of the crisis will be greater," Geithner said.

The statement from Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers at the end of their meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland said that economic and financial conditions have improved.

But they stressed that recovery is "uneven and remains dependent on policy support" and that high unemployment remains a major concern.

The statement smoothes over divisions among officials about how best to secure future global growth. Host country Britain, still mired in recession, wants to continue international effort to support a still fledging recovery, while other G20 nations, including the United States, Japan and Germany, have been more eager to talk about ending measures to boost growth.

The G-20 officials - representing around 90 percent of the world's wealth, 80 percent of world trade, and two-thirds of the world's population - also committed to take action to tackle the threat of climate change and work towards "an ambitious outcome" at a major UN conference in Copenhagen next month.

Officials are considering a finance package to help poorer nations develop green industries and adapt to climate change.