Bhupender Yadav (PTI)
NEW DELHI: Turning the pressure back on rich nations ahead of making its new 2035 climate action pledges, India has urged developed countries to demonstrate their own greater climate ambition and honour their commitments, underlining the need to reach ‘net zero’ emission by them earlier than 2050.India will submit its new climate action pledges — nationally determined contribution (NDC) — to the UN body next month. So far, more than 100 countries, including the US, China and the EU, have already submitted their NDCs with many stakeholders, asking India to deliver an ambitious mitigation target.“Developed countries must reach ‘net zero’ far earlier than current target dates, fulfil their obligations under Article 9.1 (providing climate finance by developed countries to assist developing ones) of the Paris Agreement, and deliver new, additional, and concessional climate finance estimated to be in trillions of dollars,” said environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday while delivering India’s national statement at the ongoing UN climate conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.Yadav articulated India’s consistent position where it wants wealthy nations to be ambitious in their climate action as they, being the historical emitters, are responsible for climate change whereas the countries in the Global South suffer more.His remarks on “trillions of dollars” reflect the Global South’s demand to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 by rich nations to assist developing countries instead of what was agreed ($300 billion annually by 2035) amid serious concerns during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year. Asking rich nations to deliver, the minister, on the occasion, flagged how India has already demonstrated successfully that development and environmental stewardship can advance in tandem, and fulfilled all its climate action promises much in advance.“India’s emission intensity has declined by over 36% since 2005. India’s non-fossil fuel based energy capacity, currently around 256 GW, accounts for more than half of its total electric installed capacity — an NDC target achieved five years ahead of the schedule,” said Yadav.He also noted that the country’s newly launched Nuclear Mission and Green Hydrogen Mission further accelerate its journey towards ‘net zero’ by 2070.The Brazilian Presidency, meanwhile, on Tuesday released a new set of draft texts — Mutirao Mobilization/Belem Package — incorporating all suggestions on the negotiation table on contentious issues, including finance, mitigation and unilateral trade measures, and an overall COP30 decision mechanism. Negotiators will try to thrash out their differences over the next three days to come out with a final decision of COP30.