By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 16, 2024: INTERVENING on the behalf of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), at the High-Level Ministerial on Climate Finance on 14.11.2024 in CoP29 of the UNFCCC Summit at Baku, India highlighted that the impacts of Climate Change are increasingly becoming evident in form of one disaster to another.

Delivering the statement, Naresh Pal Gangwar, AS (MoEFCC) and India's lead negotiator at CoP29, stated that extreme weather events are so frequent and increasingly strong, that the impacts are being felt by the people of the Global South, especially. There is, therefore, a need for heightened ambitions on climate action.  He said, "We are at a crucial juncture in our fight against Climate Change. What we decide here will enable all of us, particularly those in the Global South, to not only take ambitious mitigation action but also adapt to Climate Change. This CoP is historic in this context".

The statement firmly asserted that recognising the historical responsibilities and differences in capacities, the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement envisage a global response to climate change, adhering to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities. The context of different national circumstances, sustainable development goals and poverty eradication, particularly with respect to the Global South, should not be lost sight of. These principles must form the basis for a strong outcome on the New Collective Quantified Goal at CoP29, it added.

India's intervention reiterated that the developed countries need to commit to provide and mobilise at least USD 1.3 trillion every year till 2030, though grants, concessional finance and non-debt-inducing support that cater to the evolving needs and priorities of developing countries, without subjecting them to growth-inhibiting conditionalities in the provision of finance.

The statement recognised that such a scenario is vital for advancing towards COP30, where all Parties are expected to submit their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Achieving this outcome will set a solid foundation for meaningful progress in our global climate efforts, it noted.

Talking further on the importance of the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQG) on Climate Finance, the statement emphasized that it cannot be changed into an investment goal when it is a unidirectional provision and mobilisation goal from the developed to the developing countries. Paris Agreement is clear on who is to provide and mobilise the climate finance - it is the developed countries, it added.

India strongly laid down the point that bringing in the elements of any new goal, which are outside the mandate of the convention and its Paris Agreement, is unacceptable. The statement ruled out any scope for re-negotiation of the Paris Agreement and its provisions.

Asserting that Transparency and Trust are the backbones of any multilateral process, India noted that there is no understanding of what comprises climate finance. Developed countries' performance regarding their existing financial and technological commitments has been disappointing.

India's intervention stated that a clear definition of climate finance, in line with the provisions of UNFCCC and its Paris Agreements, will promote transparency and is vital for furthering constructive deliberations and building trust. In this regard, the statement said, "We take note of the work carried out by the Standing Committee on Finance, however, there is need to further work in arriving at a meaningful definition of climate finance".

The intervention called out the Developed countries and stated that they committed to jointly mobilise USD100 billion per year by 2020, a deadline extended to 2025.  While the USD100 billion target is already inadequate compared to the actual requirements of developing countries, the real amount mobilised has been even less encouraging. "The USD100 billion was committed in 2009, 15 years ago. We have a common time frame for expressing ambitions every five years. There is a similar need in terms of Climate Finance. We are very hopeful that developed countries will realise their responsibility to enable enhanced ambitions and make this CoP29 a success", the statement said.