COP29: India expresses dissatisfaction with developed countries on climate finance

At the ongoing COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan, India expressed dissatisfaction over the insistence of developed countries to expand the mitigation ambition and scope of the Implementation Work Program (MWP) as agreed in the past.

On Saturday, India made a statement at the concluding session of the Subsidiary Bodies on ‘Agenda on Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Program (MWP)’ at the COP29 held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

India made its statement reacting to the intervention of developed countries asking for the inclusion of mitigation paragraphs from the Global Stocktake in the MWP at COP28.

India has adopted its position in line with the views expressed by the Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), the Arab Group and the African Group of Negotiators (AGN).

India expressed serious concern over the progress of CoP29 during the week.

“We have not seen any progress on issues that are important to developing countries,” India’s statement said. Our part of the world is experiencing some of the worst impacts of climate change, with little ability to recover from those impacts or adapt to changes in the climate system for which we are not responsible.

The statement further said, “We have seen a tendency to ignore decisions taken in the past – related to the Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work program at CoP27 and the context of the Global Stocktake in the Paris Agreement, where it informs Parties to Take Climate Action.”

India emphasized that the MWP was established with a specific mandate that it would be operationalized through a focused exchange of ideas, information and opinions, noting that the outcomes of the Program of Work would be non-prescriptive, Will be non-punitive, convenient, respectful of national sovereignty. and national circumstances, taking into account the nationally determined nature of the Nationally Determined Contribution and not imposing new targets or targets.

Expressing disappointment over the reluctance of developed countries to engage on the issue over the past week, India’s statement said, “If there are no means of implementation, there can be no climate action. “How can we discuss climate action when it is being made impossible for us to act, while our challenges in dealing with the impacts of climate change continue to grow?”

India stressed that those who have the most capacity to take climate action have consistently changed targets, delayed climate action, and eaten up a highly disproportionate share of the global carbon budget.

The chief negotiator said, “We now have to meet our development needs in the face of a rapidly shrinking carbon budget and the increasing impacts of climate change. We are being asked to increase mitigation ambition by those who have shown no such ambition either in their mitigation ambition and implementation, nor in providing the means for implementation.

As expected, India has been vocal about securing climate finance, mainly from developed countries that are huge carbon emitters. Climate finance generally refers to any financing that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that address climate change.

The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP) began on November 11 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and will continue until November 22.

At COP26 held in 2021, India committed to an ambitious five-part “Panchamrit” pledge. These include reaching 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity, generating half of all energy needs from renewable energy and reducing emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.

India as a whole aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India is committed to net-zero emissions by 2070. Green energy for climate mitigation is not only a focus area for India, but has gained momentum globally.