Last update:November 15, 2024, 6:58 p.m. IST

India has firmly asserted that it is unacceptable to introduce elements of any new targets outside the mandate of the Paris Agreement and has ruled out any possibility of negotiating the 2015 agreement.

The two-week United Nations Climate Conference continues in Baku, Azerbaijan, as delegates from nearly 200 countries negotiate a deal to finalize the next climate finance target, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG ), to replace the previous commitment of $100 billion per year. year. (Photo: United Nations Climate Change Conference)

India to COP29 drew attention to the devastating impacts of climate change on the Global South and called on developed countries to wake up and take responsibility for stronger climate action.

Speaking on behalf of like-minded developing countries (LMDCs) at the High-Level Ministerial Conference on Climate Finance at the United Nations Climate Summit in Baku, India pushed for at least 1, 3 trillion dollars each year until 2030 be mobilized by developed countries in the form of grants, concessional financing and non-debt-inducing aid.

This support must respond to the changing needs and priorities of developing countries, without imposing restrictive conditions on growth in terms of financing, he emphasizes.

Making the statement, India’s lead negotiator at COP29, Naresh Pal Gangwar, additional secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), said this was vital to move forward towards COP30, where all parties should submit their updated version of the nationally determined decisions. Contributions (NDC). “What we decide here will enable all of us, especially those in the Global South, to not only take ambitious mitigation measures, but also adapt to climate change. This COP is historic in this context,” he added.

NCQG is not an investment objective

With a clear focus on the new Collective Quantified Targets (CQGs) on climate finance that are currently being negotiated, India has asserted that they cannot be transformed into an investment target while it it is a unidirectional goal of supply and mobilization from developed to developing countries.

India also stressed that it was unacceptable to introduce elements of a new target outside the mandate of the Paris Agreement and ruled out any possibility of negotiating the agreement. “The Paris Agreement clearly specifies who must provide and mobilize climate finance: it is developed countries,” he says.

The declaration also makes clear that developed countries must take the lead in climate action given their historical responsibilities and differences in capabilities, emphasizing the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. “The context of different national circumstances, the Sustainable Development Goals and the eradication of poverty, particularly with regard to the Global South, must not be lost sight of,” he adds.

Stressing that transparency and trust are essential to any multilateral process, India said there is a lack of understanding of what climate finance entails and stressed the need for a meaningful definition of climate finance.

The performance of developed countries is “disappointing”

India also reminded rich countries of their previous commitment to jointly mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020, a deadline extended to 2025. The target was not only inadequate, the actual amount mobilized was even less encouraging, she said, expressing disappointment with the situation. performance of developing countries in terms of their financial and technological commitments to date.

“The $100 billion was committed in 2009, 15 years ago. We have a common timetable to express our ambitions every five years. There is a similar need for climate finance. We strongly hope that developed countries will realize their responsibility to enable increased ambitions and make this COP29 a success,” we read in the press release.

The two-week United Nations Climate Conference continues in Baku, Azerbaijan, as delegates from nearly 200 countries negotiate a deal to finalize the next climate finance target, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG ), to replace the previous commitment of $100 billion per year. year.