India thwarted attempts for limitations on coal at COP28: Bhupender Yadav
An Oxfam report has pointed out that there is no definition of climate finance and we do not know how much climate finance has been delivered, the environment minister said
India refused any prescriptive policies on the use of coal on behalf of the Global South at the United Nations climate summit held in Dubai in December, environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday.
He was speaking at the launch of a book titled “Modi Energising A Green Future” that has been edited by a number of experts, including RK Pachnanda, chairman of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission, and Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, among others.
There were talks of seeking permission for coal expansion in India, but the country rejected the move, Yadav said. “They said (during the negotiations) for your coal sector you must take permission. We declined. We raised the issue on behalf of the Global South. We also said if there are fossil fuel subsidies for poverty eradication, that should be allowed to continue,” the environment minister said.
No country can develop without energy, Yadav said. “It is clear that for energy transition, developed countries should make funds available to the Global South and transfer technology,” he said.
An Oxfam report has pointed out that there is no definition of climate finance and we do not know how much climate finance has been delivered, Yadav said. “This time, after strong advocacy by India and other developing countries, member countries agreed to come up with a definition of climate finance,” he added.
At the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, developed countries pledged $100 billion in climate financing for developing nations every year, starting 2020. “When the issue of delivering on the commitment of $100 billion came up in Dubai, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said around $90 billion was delivered,” Yadav said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi played an important role in forging a consensus that resulted in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Once the pact was agreed upon, India made big commitments to contain the global rise in temperatures through its nationally determined contribution (NDC). “Two of the quantitative NDCs were increasing renewable energy capacity to 40% and to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level,” Yadav said. “India is the only G20 country to have achieved these 2030 goals in 2021.”
India has been a voice of the Global South in the global climate negotiations, the minister said. “In the past 200 years, developed countries have utilised most of the carbon space, led a very anthropocentric life leading to the crisis of climate change and now they cannot transfer their mitigation burden on developing countries,” he said. “India is championing this cause for developing countries.”
India is focused on increasing renewable energy, hydrogen and biofuels capacity. “From a policy perspective, on energy, on desertification of land and on biodiversity, we have policies for all in India,” Yadav said. “Environmental action should be about access to energy and coexistence. It should be also about mindful consumption.”
Yadav and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar were among the contributors to chapters in the book published by Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation and Pentagon Press.
