India stressed the spirit of equality and multilateral cooperation in climate action in the inaugural session of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) being held in Belém city of Brazil. On Tuesday, India made it clear in blunt terms that developed countries will have to fulfill their legal responsibilities related to finance, technology and capacity building.
India, speaking on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) and the Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDC) grouping, said climate finance remains the biggest hurdle. India demanded that it be clearly defined what exactly climate finance is and that public finance for adaptation be scaled up and strengthened.
Legal obligation on developed countries to provide financial aid
India said that under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, developed countries have a legal obligation to provide financial assistance. Finance for adaptation needs to be increased 15-fold to help the billions of people who have contributed least to climate change but are most affected. India also reiterated that the basic spirit of the Paris Agreement, equal but differentiated responsibilities, should remain intact and there should be no change in its structure.
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Demand for affordable and equitable access to India’s climate technology
Along with this, India demanded affordable and equitable access to climate technology. Also said that patent and market related barriers should be removed, which prevent developing countries from acquiring technology. India reminded developed countries to live up to their historical and existing obligations, i.e. achieving net-zero targets early, investing in negative emission technologies and meeting financial commitments.
India’s warning
During this, India also warned that unilateral climate-related trade policies (such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) impose additional burden on developing countries. Such moves violate Article 3.5 of the UN climate treaty, which prohibits imposing trade sanctions in the name of climate action.
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Bolivia proposed to include this issue
It is noteworthy that Bolivia, on behalf of the LMDC group, has proposed to include this issue in the agenda of this year’s climate negotiations. However, the issue has not yet been formally raised and is being discussed separately by the COP30 presidency. On the other hand, under Brazil’s presidency, many sensitive issues are still under discussion, including the financial responsibility of developed countries, progress towards the 1.5 °C target and transparency of countries’ climate data.
