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Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
India flags finance as Bonn talks end
India has endorsed the views of Like-Minded Developing Countries, G77 and China groupings that adherence to Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates developed nations to provide financial assistance to developing countries, is critical as the world approaches the annual climate conference scheduled for November. Bonn Climate Meetings act as a midway point before COP (AP) During the closing plenary at the Bonn Climate Meetings, which act as a midway point before COP, India said that lack of progress on Article 9.1 has emerged as one of the foremost challenges related to climate finance. 'Lack of any progress on Article 9.1 is one of the foremost challenges related to climate finance. This is a global priority. This is a priority for Global South. This is not possible without international cooperation and the developed countries meeting their obligation and ensuring the urgent implementation of Article 9.1,' India's delegate at Bonn said. India has also expressed concerns about unilateral trade measures. '…we are concerned about the unilateral trade measures against the provision of Article 3.5 of the Convention. We are hearing unilateral carbon border adjustments, which directly contravene the principles of equity, CBDRRC, and the multilateral spirit of the Convention. We strongly urge parties to reflect on this and extend support to these matters in future deliberations,' Rajashree Ray, economic advisor, MoEFCC, said. While Article 9.1 says that developed countries must provide financial resources to assist developing countries for mitigation and adaptation, Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC mandates countries to cooperate for a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development. 'We need to put our best foot forward to strengthen multilateralism, rebuild trust, and ensure to find a just and equitable solution that leaves no one behind. As ever, India stands ready to work constructively with all parties… India is committed to a scientific approach to addressing climate change,' she said. One of the key agendas for COP30 is the 'Baku to Belem' road map to 1.3T, which is all about mobilising climate finance for the developing world. The spokesperson for LMDC grouping said there were 'many, many unfulfilled promises' from developed country partners. 'We have faced a lot of resistance from our developed country partners in moving forward agenda items that would support actual implementation of the Paris Agreement... Instead, our partners prefer to talk about having more dialogues, obfuscating the real issues underlying their failure to fully comply with their long-standing commitments since 1994… And as if to add insult to the injury, against our needs which run into trillions of dollars, developed countries chose to offer to mobilise only $300 billion for the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG),' said Diego Pacheco, Bolivia's climate negotiator and spokesperson for LMDC. 'COP30 needs to inspire all of us to implement the Paris Agreement, grounded squarely on the principles of the Convention, equity and CBDR-RC, while unlocking the provision of public finance through implementation of Article 9.1, while seriously addressing trade restricted unilateral measures,' he added. At COP29, held in Baku, developing nations sought the mobilisation of $1.3 trillion with a $600 billion of this coming through grants and grants equivalent resources by 2030. However, the chair hastily gavelled a climate finance goal of 'at least $300 billion per year by 2035' from a wide variety of sources. Experts said the Bonn discussions were an example of the 'hypocrisy' of wealthy countries. 'In Bonn, we saw the theater of rich nations once again dodging their duty, hiding behind the smokescreen of technical talks while communities in the Global South are left to drown in broken promises. After decades of negotiations, the fundamental truth remains unchanged: there is no climate justice without climate finance,' Harjeet Singh, Climate Activist and Founding Director, Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. 'And the hypocrisy is stark: wealthy countries can find trillions for military spending and the fossil fuel industry, yet they sideline the adaptation finance that is crucial for helping people suffering from losses and damages. We cannot achieve a just transition away from fossil fuels or protect our people from devastating climate impacts until the wealthy countries that created this crisis finally meet their commitments with real, public grants,' Singh said.
Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Spotlight on funding for just transition at Bonn Meetings
Divergences on key issues continued at the ongoing Bonn Climate Meetings, which act as a midway point before the annual climate conference (COP30) scheduled to take place in Belem, Brazil this November, slowing down progress on important issues. Embers glow at night as the Basin Fire burns in the Sierra National Forest in Fresno County, California, on June 26, 2024. (AFP) Developed and developing countries sparred over the provision of finance for adaptation and Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) in the past couple of days. The Bonn meetings will close on June 26. HT reported on June 19 that India and several developing countries have expressed disappointment after a key climate finance discussion was excluded from the Bonn Climate Talks agenda, vowing to raise the issue at November's COP30 summit in Brazil. The dispute centred on Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates that developed countries provide financial resources to assist developing nations with both mitigation and adaptation efforts including for energy transition. The exclusion of this discussion from the agenda led to a 30-hour delay before talks could begin. Consultations were taken up on article 9.1 again on Monday, in the context of Just Transition Work Programme. 'Possibly the most heated segment of the day was the consultations by the Subsidiary Bodies' Chairs with parties on the implementation of Paris Agreement Article 9.1 (developed countries' provision of climate finance). Developing countries underscored the inadequacy of current levels of finance, lamenting mounting costs related to loss and damage and the debt burden caused by non-concessional loans,' reported the Earth Negotiations Bulletin of International Institute for Sustainable Development. The Like Minded Developing Countries which includes India, the Arab group of countries, African group, and others lamented developed countries' lack of political will to implement their legal obligation under Paris Agreement Article 9.1 and UNFCCC Article 4.3 (provision of new and additional financial resources by developed countries). They supported a standalone item on Article 9.1 which was opposed by the EU, Environmental Integrity Group (developed country coalition), and Australia among others who pointed to existing finance-related agenda items that include consideration of Article 9.1, such as the Standing Committee on Finance, the Bulletin said. Developed countries also tried to block discussions on advancing the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) and finance consultations for it, according to observers. 'The first week of informal consultations on the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP)...began with numerous proposals from developing countries on actionable outcomes, amidst continuous attempts from developed countries to limit and block these proposals from advancing the work programme,' the Third World Network said in its bulletin. Developed countries placed more emphasis on having key high-level messages emerging from the dialogues as important outcomes from JTWP this year, and did not agree to any new institutional arrangement that would have additional financial implications, citing that discussion on any new institutional arrangement is premature, and Parties should wait until the review of the work programme in 2026, TWN, an independent non-profit international research and advocacy organisation involved in issues related to the Global South. India, speaking in its national capacity, on June 22 also raised its concerns in the use of language such as 'global or international partnerships' as there is concern on whether one would consider these partnerships as 'just' or not. (India was referring to the Just Energy Transition Partnerships – JETPs). It also raised concerns about the interpretations of just transitions by developed countries reflecting that 'higher ambition is inherently just'. India said it would agree with it if it is rooted in historical responsibilities and equity as we all agreed that this work programme would be implemented in context of Article 2.2 of the PA. (Article 2.2 of the PA states that, 'This Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of CBDR- and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.'), the TWN reported. The JTWP was established at COP28 held in Dubai, but its scope and operationalisation are currently being negotiated at Bonn. The aim is to recommend a draft decision for adoption at COP30, to be held in Belém later this year. 'The inclusion of unilateral trade measures (such as carbon border tax) under the JTWP is at the heart of the contestations. G77 and China, the largest developing countries bloc consisting of 134 countries want a discussion on UTM as such measures hinder their ability to eradicate poverty and develop sustainably. Developed countries do not want to discuss that,' said Rudrath Avinashi, Programme Officer, Centre for Science and Environment. 'Additionally, the developed countries want the just transition pathways to be in line with 1.5 degree celsius global temperature goal. As a response, India on behalf of the like minded developing countries have argued that any targets which are global in nature should be rooted in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities,' he added. 'We are here at Bonn not to engage in a rudimentary exercise in negotiating text, but to enact a critical defence of lives and uphold the right of our countries to thrive,' said Anne Rasmussen, Lead ClimateNegotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in a statement on Tuesday. 'Our world has not yet crossed the Paris Agreement 1.5-degree Celsius limit which refers to a 20-year average, but the most recent scientific reports underscore we are in a far worse danger zone than we previously thought. AOSIS calls on all countries to ensure we do not fail in our mission and destroy our citizens' hopes of a sustainable future,' she added.
