India expects a clear roadmap on climate finance to be agreed upon at the on-going 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai to deliver on new collective quantified climate goals (CQCG) being firmed up, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is travelling to Dubai to attend the World Climate Action Summit, the high-level segment of COP-28, on Friday, where he will deliver his address at the opening session and also participate in three side events, including one focussed on climate finance, Kwatra said at a press briefing on Thursday.
“Climate finance and clean technology are a very crucial segment of all global efforts to address this challenge of environmental degradation. We expect a clear roadmap to be agreed upon at COP-28 on climate finance, which would be important for delivering on the new collective quantified goals (NCQG) at COP-29,” he said.
At the UNFCCC, parties are working on setting a new collective quantified goal (NCQG) from a floor of $100 billion per year (agreed in 2009), taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries, prior to 2025. Deliberations on what this goal needs to address, including concerns related to quantity, quality, and transparency, are still underway.
India’s approach to climate action is deeply rooted in its civilisational ethos and is reflected foremost in its ambitious national policies, especially those that are aimed at economic development, energy, and nutrition, Kwatra said.
Our approach to climate action is also reflected in helping the rest of the global south in combating this serious challenge of climate change as well as its impact on the development framework of developing countries, he added.
“We have engaged actively in multilateral negotiations under UNFCCC, and our approach has been to preserve an equitable and cooperative global architecture based on climate justice, principles of equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC),” the Foreign Secretary said.
Answering a question on India’s stance on coal consumption for energy requirements, Kwatra said coal would remain an important part of India’s energy mix, as it has always been, as the country moves forward to meet its developmental priorities.
Two of the three events that Modi would attend are being co-hosted by India, the Foreign Secretary said. The first event, which India is to co-host with the UAE, is the launch of the green credits initiative. The second event, to be co-hosted with Sweden, will be the launch of Lead IT 2.0, a leadership group on energy transition.