New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) The Paris Agreement is at risk if countries fail to deliver a meaningful new climate finance goal to help developing nations combat and adapt to climate change, the spokesperson for the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) has warned.
LMDC is a bloc of around 25 developing nations that advocates for shared positions in international climate negotiations. This group includes India, China, Pakistan, Argentina, Iran, and Egypt, and represents more than 50 per cent of the world’s population.
In a virtual interview with PTI, Diego Pacheco, the spokesperson for LMDC and the lead negotiator for Bolivia, said developed countries are attempting to dilute their responsibility to provide climate finance by creating a complex New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) framework with multiple layers.
NCQG refers to the new, larger amount that developed nations must mobilize each year, starting in 2025, to support climate action in developing countries.
Countries are expected to finalize NCQG at this year’s UN climate conference COP29 in Azerbaijan’s Baku in November.
Pacheco said developing countries are implementing their national climate plans to achieve Paris Agreement goals or nationally determined contributions (NDCs) without “any support at all” from developed countries that have historically benefited from industrialization and contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions.
“Developing countries cannot move forward with more commitments without the necessary financial support. After 10 years since the approval of the Paris Agreement, it is time to discuss the key issue for the implementation of the pact.
“If we cannot succeed in achieving a meaningful NCQG, all the agreements made in Paris are at stake,” he told PTI.
The LMDC spokesperson added the Global South has been calling for greater cooperation to tackle the climate crisis for a decade, “but it seems that developed countries don’t really want to respond; they are just protecting their economies”.
Pacheco emphasised that equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be central to the negotiations for formulating a meaningful NCQG.
According to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), high-income industrialized nations are responsible for providing finance and technology to help developing countries combat and adapt to climate change.
These countries include the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and European Union (EU) member states such as Germany, France, and the UK.
At the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, developed countries pledged to provide USD 100 billion annually from 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.
However, this target has not been fully met, leading to a significant finance gap. This shortfall has eroded trust and hindered climate action in developing countries.
The LMDC is calling for urgent action to close this gap.
In May, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) claimed that developed countries had met the long-standing USD 100 billion-a-year promise by providing nearly USD 116 billion in climate finance to developing countries in 2022, with nearly 70 per cent of the money given as loans.
Pacheco argued there is a misconception among developed countries about the concept of climate finance. Loans and private finance at market rates cannot be considered climate finance, he said.
That is why developing countries are demanding a clear definition and methodology for climate finance, Pacheco said.
About the NCQG negotiations held so far, he said most developed countries are only trying to impose obligations on developing countries.
“Developed countries are cherry-picking specific issues from the UAE consensus, particularly Para 28 regarding sectoral goals, and trying to include these as key issues for COP29,” he said.
The issue of ‘public finance as the basis of NCQG’ is a priority for the LMDC, according to Pacheco.
“Developed countries must demonstrate a substantial increase in public finance, including grants and highly concessional finance. While the private sector’s role is important, it is not the principal means in the context of the NCQG.
“Public finance should be at the centre of NCQG negotiations. Developed countries are trying to dilute their responsibilities by creating a very complex framework with multiple layers, combining public and private finance,” he said.
Pacheco also said a group of developed countries is pushing to expand the list of countries responsible for providing climate finance to developing nations.
In a submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last week, the European Commission said the “collective goal can only be reached if parties with high greenhouse gas emissions and economic capabilities join the effort”.
The US said that while current contributors will continue to support developing countries, other nations with the “capacity to support others in pursuing mitigation and adaptation must also be accountable for delivering on the NCQG’s support layer.” Switzerland and Canada have even proposed criteria to expand the climate finance contributor base.
Pacheco said developing countries oppose reopening and expanding the contributors’ base beyond the established framework of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
This goes far beyond the mandates for discussing the NCQG. Developed countries should fulfil their financial commitments, he said. PTI GVS NSD NSD
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