The Thirteenth Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP-30) will convene in November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. It will serve as the 20th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 20), and the Seventh meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 7). UNFCCC was voluntary. Kyoto Protocol was mandatory. Paris Agreement is voluntary. The distressing outcome of Twenty Ninth Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP-29) was more disappointing than the outcome of the COP 28 held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, during 30 November-13 December 2023. These outcomes reveal that the adoption of Paris Agreement instead of adopting third commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was/is a misleading initiative. CMP 20 of Kyoto Protocol should be used to re-negotiate its third commitment period. COP29 decision text has come under unprecedented criticism.
India became the first Global South nation to reject the UN climate deal, which offers $300 billion annually to developing countries to address the consequences of climate crisis they did not cause. India rejected the climate spending goal adopted at the COP29 in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Chandni Raina, an advisor at India’s Finance Ministry and COP29 negotiator for India, severely criticised the deal saying, "In continuation of several such incidents of not following inclusivity, not respecting country positions...We had informed the presidency, we had informed the secretariat that we wanted to make a statement prior to any decision. However, this is for everyone to see, this has been stage-managed. We are extremely disappointed." She said that India was not allowed to speak before the adoption of the deal. She added: "USD 300 billion does not address the needs and priorities of developing countries. It is incompatible with the principle of CBDR (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities) and equity, regardless of the battle with the impact of climate change". She underlined her sadness: "We are very unhappy, disappointed with the process, and object to the adoption of this agenda". She asserted: “I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document.”
Prior to this India had expressed disappointment at the shifting of focus from enablement of adequate Climate Finance to emphasis only on mitigation, at the Plenary Session at the CoP29 of the UN Climate Change Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. India aligned its stance with the statement made by Bolivia on behalf of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) and reiterated that the process of the fight against Climate Change has to be guided by the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, as the Global South continues to face the intense impacts of Climate Change.
Delivering India’s statement, Secretary (MoEFCC) and Deputy Leader of the Delegation, Leena Nandan had said, “We feel disappointed by the fact that we continue to shift focus when the time has come to ensure that the mitigation actions are fully supported through provisions of adequate Finances as per CBDR-RC and equity considerations. COP after COP, we keep talking about mitigation ambitions - what is to be done, without talking about how it is to be done - in other words, the enablement of mitigation ambitions. This COP started with Focus on enablement through New Collective Quantitative Goals (NCQG), but as we move towards the end, we see shifting of the focus to mitigation.”
India firmly asserted that any attempts to deflect the focus again from Finance to repeated emphasis on mitigation cannot be accepted. The statement read, “All countries have submitted their NDCs and will be submitting the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) being informed by the various decisions we have taken together in the past as well as on the basis of our national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development goals and poverty eradication. What we decide here on climate finance will certainly influence what we submit next year. The attempt by some parties to further talk about mitigation is primarily a shift in focus from their own responsibilities of providing finance.” The statement called for a ‘Balance in the Climate Discourse’, and added, “If not so ensured, we may have continuous talk of mitigation that has no meaning, unless supported by enablement that is needed to make climate actions happen on the ground.”
India put forth its stance on the following issues that are critical in the fight against Climate Change. They are:
NCQG
India highlighted that as grant-based concessional Climate Finance is the most critical enabler to formulate and implement the new NDCs, action will get severely impacted in the absence of adequate means of implementation. The statement read, “The document needs to be specific on the structure, quantum, quality, timeframe, access, transparency, and review. The goal for mobilisation needs to be USD 1.3 trillion, with USD 600 billion of this coming through grants and grants equivalent resources. Expansion of the contributor base, reflection of conditional elements such as macroeconomic and fiscal measures, suggestion for carbon pricing, focus on private sector actors for scaling up resource flows as investments – is contrary to the mandate for the goal. NCQG is not an investment goal. We must accept that climate actions by Developing countries will have to be country driven, in line with their circumstances and in the manner best suited to country priorities.”
Mitigation
India strongly protested against changing the scope of the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) in the draft text. India further cautioned against shifting of temperature goals, which need to be as per the exact language in the Paris Agreement. India called the introduction to the targets for 2030, 2035 and 2050 in the preamble as purely prescriptive.
India urged to add to the text certain elements like noting the pre-2020 mitigation gap by Annex-I Parties; noting with strong concern that the emission of Annex-I Parties is increasing from 2020 to 2030 etc. India strongly urged to recall the negative impacts of coercive unilateral measures on climate action specifically mitigation ambition and implementation.
Just Transition
India strongly declined to accept any renegotiation of the shared understanding prevalent on ‘Just Transitions’ in the decision from Dubai. The statement read, “Just transition is interpreted in narrow domestic terms, implying that it is national governments that have to take actions to ensure domestic just transitions. However, we have repeatedly made the point that Just transitions begin globally with Developed countries taking the lead in mitigation and ensuring that they provide the means of implementation to all Developing countries.”
India statement further said, “We have also repeatedly made the point that the possibility of our domestic transitions, our right to development, and our over-riding priority to pursue sustainable development, is constrained by repeated and ongoing inaction of Developed countries. The current text completely disregards this point that we have been making about our understanding of just transitions, which is also reflected in the Dubai decision. We absolutely cannot accept these paragraphs. They are prescriptive and completely reinterpret just transitions.”
GST
On the GST India stated the following:
- India does not agree to a follow up of the GST outcomes. As per Paris agreement, GST is supposed to only inform parties to undertake climate action.
- The new chapeau on Enhancing Action, Support and International Cooperation has been drafted without adequate connection or integration with the text, parts of which are under negotiation on the UAE dialogue.
- The last text from the negotiations undertaken by Parties was one that captured the views of all Parties and was a viable basis for further negotiation. The new options under the Section titled Modalities of the UAE dialogue does not capture this at all.
- The new chapeau has no connection with the subject matter of finance which is the main aim of the UAE dialogue.
- Further, the phrase “with developed countries (as per the synthesis report of the Biennial Reports) on track to increasing their emissions by 0.5 per cent from 2020 to 2030” may be added after the phrase “by 2.6 per cent by 2030 compared with the 2019 level”.
- Though the new chapeau title is general, the text added is completely mitigation centric and completely unbalanced. India does not accept this text.
- India does not accept the way the options have been formulated in the Timing and Format sections of the UAE dialogue.
Adaptation
India shared the following five points, which are essential to consider the draft decision:
- Final outcome should include indicators on means of implementation in order for this work on global goal on adaptation to be meaningful.
- There is no need to further focus on transformational adaptation. Instead, it is important to focus on other approaches such as incremental adaptation, long term adaptation in the context of national circumstances.
- The data used for reporting on indicators should be taken from Party submitted reports and not from any third party databases. Therefore, this text may be dropped.
- Language on Establishment of Baku Road Map as a means of continuing work pertaining to the global goal on adaptation, is essential.
- Indicators should reflect the progress in the GGA goals. Further segregation may not be required.
In conclusion, reiterated that this COP is the Finance COP - the Balancing COP, the enabling CoP. The statement read, “If we fail here, we fail in the fight against Climate Change for which the onus should be on those who are obligated to provide finance for climate action.”
The Nigerian representative called the $300 billion goal “a joke,” while Bolivia slammed it as an “insult and a flagrant violation of justice and climate equity.” Ali Mohamed, speaking on behalf of more than 50 African nations, called the deal “too little, too late for a continent facing climate devastation while contributing least to emissions.” He noted that an estimated $5.1–6.8 trillion is needed for climate action by 2030. The Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group of 43 island nations quit the summit saying that the COP29 discussions “were not offering a progressive way forward.”
Raina concluded: "India does not accept the goal proposal in its present form."
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