Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (AP photo)
NEW DELHI: India and Russia on Friday agreed to intensify their bilateral efforts for implementing different climate actions under global goals approved on multilateral forums such as the UN Convention on climate change and its Paris Agreement.The statement, issued after the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted the agreement of both countries to continue development of joint approaches to mobilise “increased access to climate finance and technologies” for developing countries and economies in transition.Russia comes under the ‘economies in transition’ (EIT) category, and therefore, does not fall under the group of developed countries who are obligated to provide climate finance to assist developing countries to undertake emissions reduction activities under the UN Convention.Under the convention, developed countries have to take all practicable steps to promote development and transfer of environmentally friendly technologies to EIT and developing countries. The India-Russia joint approach may help in mobilising climate finance by leveraging their combined efforts at multilateral forums.Noting the importance of expanding efforts to combat climate change and achieving the goals of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement, both India and Russia agreed to “intensify the bilateral dialogue on implementing mechanisms of the Article 6 (carbon trade) of the Paris Agreement, developing low-carbon technologies and using sustainable finance instruments”. The joint statement said both countries also agreed to continue interaction within G20, Brics and SCO on climate change. “Both sides encouraged fruitful cooperation in the area of addressing climate change in Brics during the India chairship in 2026,” it said. The statement also welcomed the first meeting of the joint Russia-India working group on issues of climate change and low-carbon development held on Sept 10 in New Delhi.
