Developed countries to blame for carbon emissions: India at COP29

Developing countries are facing the impact of climate change due to the carbon emissions released by developed countries, India said at the COP29 climate summit in Baku.

At the High-Level Ministerial Dialogue Climate Change Adaptation during the climate summit, India said, “Developing countries are suffering the impacts of climate change largely due to the historical emissions of developed countries. For us as developing countries, our people’s lives, their very survival, and their livelihoods are at stake.”

India reminded that at COP28 in 2023, it was emphasised that the developing countries needed financial support to adapt to climate change.

Speaking on the importance of accessibility to credible climate finance to the Global South, India’s negotiator Rajasree Ray said, “The COP28 Global Stocktake decision emphasised the need to bridge the tremendous gap in adaptation and gaps in implementation that arise from the lack of sufficient attention and resources. Additionally, at COP28, parties to the Paris Agreement adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. This framework acknowledges the urgent need for enhanced support and implementation resources from the developed countries to help the developing countries meet the adaptation targets.”

In response to the pressing threat of climate change, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance has emerged as a crucial initiative which is aimed at mobilising resources for the developing countries to combat climate challenges. The NCQG is a new annual financial target that the developed countries must meet from 2025 onwards to provide climate finance to the developing countries.

India said it was developing its National Adaptation Plan under which the country would identify long and short-term measures to address the impacts of climate change. Ray said India was meeting its climate change adaptation financing through domestic resources.

“We are currently developing our National Adaptation Plan. In our Initial Adaptation Communication submitted to the United Nations Framework for Climate Change last year, we outlined that the requirements for building adaptation capital could rise to about $854.16 billion. Clearly, a significant boost in adaptation finance flows is essential,” Ray said.

India called upon the developed countries to fulfil the agreed commitments concerning the adaptation finance needs of the developing countries.