India Calls on Developed Nations to Meet Climate Finance Obligations at COP30

India has reiterated its dedication to multilateralism and fairness in global climate initiatives. It emphasised that developed countries must meet their legal duties regarding finance, technology transfer, and capacity building for developing nations. Speaking at the 30th UN climate conference COP30 in Belem, Brazil, India highlighted that climate finance is a significant barrier to increased ambition.

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India stressed the need for a clear definition of climate finance and called for enhanced public finance for adaptation. The country pointed out that Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement mandates developed nations to provide financial resources to developing countries. Adaptation finance, it noted, must increase fifteen-fold to support billions of vulnerable people who have contributed minimally to global warming.

Equity and Technology Transfer

India expressed strong support for multilateralism and international cooperation. It urged outcomes that respect equity principles and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The nation advocated for reliable, affordable access to climate technologies and called for removing intellectual property barriers that hinder technology transfer to developing countries.

The architecture of the Paris Agreement should remain unchanged, with CBDR-RC as its foundation, India asserted. Developed countries were reminded of their historical responsibilities, urging them to achieve net-zero emissions sooner, invest in negative emissions technologies, and fulfil their longstanding commitments on finance and technology.

Trade Measures and Climate Finance

India warned against unilateral climate-related trade measures, cautioning that such actions could become protectionist tools. These measures might violate Article 3.5 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which prohibits trade restrictions disguised as climate action. Bolivia, representing the LMDC group, proposed including unilateral trade measures like the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in this year's climate talks agenda.

India argued that unilateral measures force developing nations to bear transition costs to low-carbon economies. This undermines climate finance commitments from developed countries, which have historically benefited from industrialisation and contributed significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Although raised at annual climate conferences since 2023, this issue remains unresolved.

Ongoing Consultations

This year, the matter has been left to COP30's Presidency for consultations outside formal negotiations. Brazil's Presidency is also consulting on other politically sensitive issues like implementing Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. This article makes climate finance from developed to developing countries a legal obligation.

Other topics under discussion include addressing the 1.5-degree Celsius ambition gap and ensuring transparency of national climate data. These discussions aim to bridge gaps in ambition and implementation while maintaining transparency in national efforts against climate change.

With inputs from PTI