India to seek more climate funding-pledges at COP26

New Delhi, Oct 28 (EFE).- India Thursday said it would seek more funding-pledges from the developed economies after a broken promise of channeling $100 billion a year to less wealthy nations by 2020 for climate change and global warming mitigation efforts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Europe Thursday night to attend the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Representatives from some 200 countries will huddle together from Oct.31 to Nov.12 to boost action against climate change disasters under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters in New Delhi that financial commitments would be the key during the climate summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

“We would like to see such commitments converted into promises. The quantum of such financing is also, in our view, inadequate. We need much more financing to reach the goals that have been set, very ambitious goals,” Shringla said.

The Paris Agreement committed the signatories to cut carbon emissions and restrict global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, if not 1.5, above pre-industrial temperatures.

To meet the objective, the signatories underlined the need for financing.

Developed countries pledged to finance $100 billion a year to developing nations to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further temperature rises.

The financing commitments are far from being accomplished.

Shringla said India expected some progress in “technology transfer, capacity building support” to curb climate change.

He said India, “despite huge developmental challenges” was taking “ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestation, and biodiversity.”

“Achieving (….) these vital issues will help foster a green and inclusive recovery,” he said.

He said India was among the top countries that have installed renewable energy, wind, and solar energy building capacities.

“Our capacity for renewable energy has increased by more than 250 percent for the last six or seven years,” the foreign secretary said.

“We are on course to achieve our target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030 that the prime minister declared last year.”

However, a last week’s report by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) revealed that big economies, despite their climate ambitions and net-zero commitments, will produce double the amount of coal, oil, and gas in 2030 than is consistent with meeting the target of the 2015 Paris accord.

The report notes that the fossil fuel production gap has remained unchanged since 2019.

The annual report, first launched in 2019, measures the gap between the planned production of coal, oil, and gas and the levels consistent with meeting the Paris Agreement temperature limits.

India committed in 2016 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 33 percent to 35 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

But in contrast to the announcement, the Indian authorities, last year, drew up a plan to exploit natural resources and expand coal production between 2019 and 2024 by about 60 percent.