Too little, too distant! India rejects new $300 billion climate finance deal at COP29

BAKU, NOVEMBER 24: India on Sunday rejected the new climate finance package of a meagre Rs 25,32,780 crore ($300 billion) annually by 2035 for the Global South at the UN climate conference, calling it “too little and too distant”.

The Rs 25,32,780 crore ($300 billion) figure is a far cry from the Rs 1,09,75,380 crore ($1.3 trillion) the Global South has been demanding over the past 3 years of talks to tackle climate change.

Making a statement on behalf of India, Chandni Raina, Adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, said they were not allowed to speak before the adoption of the deal, undermining their trust in the process.

“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.

“The goal is too little, too distant”, Raina said, asserting that it is set for 2035, which is too far away.

“Estimates tell us that we need at least Rs 1,09,75,380 crore ($1.3 trillion) per year by 2030”, she said.

The Rs 25,32,780 crore ($300 billion) does not meet 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, Raina said.

“We are very unhappy and disappointed with the process and we object to the adoption of this agenda”, the Indian negotiator said, drawing loud cheers in the plenary room full of diplomats, civil society members and journalists.

Supporting India, Nigeria said the Rs 25,32,780 crore ($300 billion) climate finance package was a “joke”. Malawi and Bolivia also lent support to India.

Raina said the outcome clearly reflects the unwillingness of developed countries to fulfil their responsibilities.

She said developing countries are the most impacted by climate change and are being pushed to transition to low-carbon pathways, even at the cost of their growth.

They are also facing unilateral measures, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, by developed countries, which does not make the transition easier.

Raina said the proposed outcome will further affect the developing world’s ability to adapt to climate change and greatly impact its climate goal ambitions and growth.

“India does not accept the goal proposal in its present form”, she said.

The new climate finance package for developing nations, or the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), replaces the Rs 8,44,260 crore ($100 billion) figure pledged in 2009.

Issued after tiring, mind-numbing negotiations that continued for an extra day, it said that countries would marshal a total of Rs 25,32,780 crore ($300 billion) per year by 2035 from a wide variety of sources ~ public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources.

The Rs 1,09,75,380 crore ($1.3 trillion) figure is in the document, but it calls on “all actors”, including public and private, to “work together” to reach this level by 2035.

It does not place the responsibility solely on developed countries. (PTI)