Baku (Azerbaijan): India Tuesday said the new climate finance goal to support climate action in the Global South should be founded in the principle of climate justice and demanded that rich nations take the lead in mitigation and provide enough carbon space for developing countries.
Delivering the national statement at the UN climate conference in Baku, Union minister of state for environment Kirti Vardhan Singh also said that restrictive unilateral trade measures of some developed countries are impeding climate action in developing countries.
“What we decide here on NCQG (new climate finance goal) must be founded on the principle of climate justice. The decisions must be ambitious and unambiguous, taking into consideration the evolving needs and priorities of the developing countries, and their commitment to sustainable development and eradication of poverty,” he said.
The minister said free availability of green technologies and finance is a must for raising climate ambition in the Global South.
“On the contrary, some of the developed countries have resorted to unilateral measures making climate actions more difficult for the Global South. The emergent situation we are in, there is no option but to break all barriers to flow of technology, finances and capacity to the Global South,” he said.
Singh said the world is going to breach the carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and therefore, the developed countries should show leadership in mitigation actions by not just advancing their net zero targets but “providing enough carbon space for developing countries like ours to develop”.
PTI