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At the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, India, representing a group of like-minded developing countries (LMDCs), has made a bold statement: developed nations must commit to providing and mobilizing at least $1.3 trillion annually until 2030 as part of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). This substantial financial support, India insists, should be delivered through grants, concessional finance, and non-debt-inducing mechanisms, tailored to the evolving needs of developing countries without imposing growth-inhibiting conditions. This call for action comes at a critical juncture, as the world grapples with increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events, disproportionately impacting the Global South. Recognizing the historical responsibility of developed countries and the disparities in capacities, India asserts that the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement call for a global response to climate change based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities.
India emphasizes that the NCQG should not be transformed into an investment goal, as it is a unidirectional provision and mobilization goal from developed to developing countries. The Paris Agreement explicitly states that developed countries are responsible for providing and mobilizing climate finance. Any attempt to introduce elements outside the mandate of the convention and its Paris Agreement is deemed unacceptable by India, which firmly rejects any re-negotiation of the existing agreement and its provisions. Transparency and trust are crucial pillars of any multilateral process, and India points out the lack of clarity surrounding the definition of climate finance, coupled with the disappointing performance of developed countries in fulfilling their existing financial and technological commitments.
India's intervention calls for a clear definition of climate finance, aligned with the provisions of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreements, to enhance transparency and foster constructive deliberations. Although acknowledging the work undertaken by the Standing Committee on Finance, India emphasizes the need for further effort in arriving at a meaningful definition of climate finance. The statement also highlights the commitment of developed countries to jointly mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020, a deadline extended to 2025. While this target is considered inadequate compared to the actual needs of developing countries, the actual amount mobilized has been even less encouraging. Estimates suggest that developing countries require up to $1.5 trillion annually for their climate needs and net-zero transition, and the loss and damage fund established at COP27 has yet to be fully operationalized.
The actual climate action funding requirement could be significantly higher than these estimates, potentially reaching several times the projected $1-1.5 trillion. The UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance, based on its assessment of NDCs, estimates a total of $5.8-5.9 trillion will be needed by 2030 to address the needs of 153 developing countries. However, this estimate likely underestimates the actual requirements, as only a small portion of needs were accounted for in the available documents. Regional breakdowns indicate that African states require around $2.5 trillion, Asia-Pacific nations need around $3.2 trillion, and Latin American and Caribbean nations require around $168 billion. The sheer scale of funding required has prompted some experts and countries, including Switzerland, Canada, and the US, to suggest expanding the list of contributors, also known as the contributor base, to include emerging countries with high emissions and high incomes.
India's statement underscores the importance of fulfilling the commitments made in the Copenhagen Accord of 2009 (COP15), which acknowledged the need to support climate action in developing economies with financial resources. In this context, developed countries pledged to provide $30 billion in climate finance to developing countries during 2010-2012, with the goal of increasing this to $100 billion per year by 2020. India remains hopeful that developed countries will recognize their responsibility to enable enhanced ambitions and contribute to the success of COP29, ensuring that the $100 billion commitment made 15 years ago is fulfilled.
Source: India pitches for $1.3 trillion in annual climate support for developing nations