At the recent Bonn Climate Conference, India has emerged as a leading voice championing the cause of climate finance for the developing world, setting the stage for critical discussions at the upcoming COP30 summit in Brazil. Dissatisfaction with the outcomes of COP29 regarding climate finance has fueled a strong push, spearheaded by India, to ensure that developed countries fulfill their obligations under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. This article mandates that developed nations provide financial resources to assist developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation efforts related to climate change.
India, along with coalitions such as the G77+China, the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), has been instrumental in raising the critical issue of climate finance accountability. These nations are collectively demanding that developed countries provide clarity, additionality, predictability, concessionality, and transparency in their financial contributions to support climate action in the developing world.
A major point of contention at the Bonn talks was the reluctance of developed countries to formally include Article 9.1 on the agenda. This reluctance has been met with disappointment and strong opposition from India and other developing nations, who view it as a critical component of climate justice and equity. Amandeep Garg, Additional Secretary at India's Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, expressed strong disappointment, emphasizing the legal obligations of wealthy countries to provide climate finance.
Developing nations, excluding China, require an estimated $1.3 trillion annually until 2035 to transition to renewable energy sources and enhance resilience against increasing extreme weather events. Developed nations agreed to increase climate finance to $300 billion a year by 2035 at the 2024 UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.
The debate surrounding Article 9.1 highlights a fundamental divide between developed and developing nations. Developing countries view the fulfillment of Article 9.1 as essential for building trust, enhancing ambition, and ensuring equity in global climate action. India has argued that without the necessary financial support, developing countries cannot scale up their climate ambitions effectively. Furthermore, India has cautioned against shifting the focus towards private finance and the "mobilization" of finance as a means of avoiding the responsibility of providing public funds.
Despite the challenges encountered at the Bonn conference, India and the LMDC have vowed to bring the issue of Article 9.1 back to the forefront at COP30. The success of this endeavor will depend on several factors, including how the Subsidiary Bodies (SB) Chairs reflect the discussions in their official report and whether Brazil, as the host of COP30, is receptive to including the item on the agenda. As the world prepares for COP30 in Belem, Brazil, the fight for climate finance accountability, led by India, is poised to be a defining issue, with significant implications for the future of global climate action and the realization of a just and equitable transition for all.
