Representing the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), India calls for climate justice at COP29 and highlights the disproportionate effects of climate change on the Global South. According to India’s principal negotiator and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Naresh Pal Gangwar, extreme weather events are growing more often and intensely, with disastrous consequences for poor countries. “This COP is historic as it shapes the future of our climate response,” he said, emphasizing the need for higher aspirations to reduce and adapt to climate change.

The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement‘s common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and equality principles were reiterated by India. India says the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate financing should be formulated based on these ideas. India was adamantly against any attempts to change the terms of the Paris Agreement or add additional features outside of its authority.

Urgent Need for $1.3 Trillion Annual Climate Finance

India emphasized the urgent need for wealthy nations to raise at least $1.3 trillion a year till 2030 through non-debt-inducing subsidies, grants, and concessional financing. It made the case that climate funding should accommodate poor countries’ changing priorities without enforcing conditions that would impede progress.

India further underlined that, following the Paris Agreement, the NCQG should continue to be a one-way promise from developed to poor nations. The $100 billion yearly climate financing pledge, which was originally made in 2009 and extended until 2025, was among the financial and technological obligations that rich nations were criticized for failing to meet. “Fifteen years later, the $100 billion goal remains unmet, inadequate, and inconsistent with developing countries’ actual needs,” Gangwar said.

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Need for Transparency: India Calls for Climate Justice at COP29

India emphasized the value of openness and confidence in international talks, stressing that significant advancements in climate financing require a precise definition. Although it praised the Standing Committee on Finance’s work, it urged further work to be done to provide a useful and practical definition.

The declaration called on rich countries to acknowledge their duty and facilitate more effective climate action, criticizing their lack of progress in meeting their financial obligations. In order to lay a strong platform for COP30, when all parties are required to revise their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India contended that these obligations must be fulfilled. India emphasized the need for strong results to guarantee the success of COP29, stating that “transparency and trust are the backbones of any multilateral process.”

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