India strongly asserted that bringing in elements of any new goal outside the Paris Agreement’s mandate is unacceptable, and ruled out any scope for negotiating the 2015 accord
India at COP29 drew attention to the devastating impacts of climate change on the Global South and called on developed nations to realise and fulfil their responsibility for stronger climate action.
Intervening on behalf of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) at the High-Level Ministerial on Climate Finance at the UN Climate Summit in Baku, India pushed for at least $1.3 trillion every year till 2030 to be mobilised by the developed countries through grants, concessional finance and non-debt-inducing support.
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This support must address the changing needs and priorities of the developing countries, without imposing any growth-restricting conditions on the provisions of finance, it emphasised.
Delivering 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 is vital for advancing towards COP30, where all parties are expected to submit their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). “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,” he added.
NCQG not an investment goal
Making its focus clear on the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQG) on climate finance which is currently under negotiation, India asserted 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.
India also stressed that bringing in the elements of any new goal outside the Paris Agreement’s mandate is unacceptable, and ruled out any scope for negotiating the accord. “The Paris Agreement is clear on who is to provide and mobilise the climate finance – it is the developed countries,” it stated.
The statement also made it clear that the developed nations must take the lead in climate action in view of their historical responsibilities and differences in capacities, underscoring the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. “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,” it added.