COP 28, Dubai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces his intention to be the voice of the global south on climate issues. Cut to COP 29, Baku: India has a noticeably low-key presence with the Prime Minister as well as Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav likely to give the latest climate summit a miss. Environment activists fear
India’s lack of high-profile presence has been attributed to the ongoing Maharashtra elections, where Yadav has been appointed as the BJP’s election in-charge. The Indian delegation at COP29 argues that this does not indicate any less intent in fighting climate change but environmental activists fear that this could be a missed opportunity for India to strike a favourable bargain.
India has emphasised the need to increase money in the adaptation sector; that can help the highly vulnerable communities in the country including Sunderbans.
Senior ministers missing at Baku
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has attended several climate summits since the 2015 Paris COP, is not scheduled to visit Baku, Government of India sources have said, and neither is his environment minister Bhupender Yadav — perhaps the first such miss in many years. Minister of State in Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh Leena Nandan, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, are expected to join the summit in its second week and participate in the high-level dialogue and negotiations.
India does not have a pavilion at the summit this year,
unlike its sprawling presence in earlier summits.
“Apart from anything else, the pavilions work as a rallying point for the people of that country, apart from holding programmes to showcase what's happening on climate change in the country. That opportunity got missed this time," said a senior Indian environment expert.
The country has not been
represented in the high-level dialogues in the first week.
A senior member of the Indian delegation contested that Baku is more of a technical COP and senior political leaders were not required to attend. “The allegations do not have any credibility; our team strength this year is almost the same as last year, actually slightly larger,” said an official.
The official also pointed out that India has released its official statement on the expectation over COP29.
India’s stronger presence could have added pressure
“The absence of high-level leaders from India and other nations at COP29 is indeed a missed opportunity to amplify political pressure on wealthy countries to fulfil their climate finance commitments,” said Harjeet Singh, climate activist and Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
The expert, however, reminded that “the real accountability lies with developed nations, who have continually fallen short on their pledges”. He added that the wealthy countries need to restore trust in the multilateral system both through their active presence and decisive action.
“While the earth faces an imminent climate collapse, as study after study shows, it's really sad that the Indian government chose to downplay its participation in the climate change conference COP29,” said Soumya Dutta, a climate activist from the Friends of the Earth-India and a long-time COP veteran.
“South Asia, including India, is getting increasingly battered by ever-increasing numbers of extreme weather events; and India's near absence from this global South voice only undermines its own potential leadership position in the global South, and hurts its own climate actions”, Dutta further added.
“I do not remember the last time even the environment minister from India could not make it to the global climate summit,” said a Cop regular closely following India.“You have to understand that climate priority lags far behind the political priority; and it applies for all political parties. Maharashtra election results are extremely important for BJP; and hence they have no time to invest elsewhere” said an activist in Baku.
Former senior environment department official and negotiator R.R. Rashmi, who is now a distinguished fellow at TERI, is of a different opinion. “The heads of governments attending climate CoPs in the very first few days is a recent trend and it is not mandatory. It started from 2021 when the commencement of the Paris Agreement had just started and was needed to put it on a high pedestal,” she said, reminding that “this year's agenda of the COP is more technical than political as it focuses on a financial goal where the shoe is on the other foot”.
India seeks adequate, grant-based, low-interest and long-term climate finance
As the high-level dialogue got underway at the Baku climate summit on November 12, India spelt out its expectations from the summit and pointed out that COP 29 should ensure that climate finance remains adequate, grant-based, low-interest and long-term; choosing to reflect upon the quality of finance alongside its earlier demand of at least USD 1 trillion annually for the developing and less developed vulnerable countries.
“The NCQG (new, collective, quantifiable goal of finance) is a key element in the discussions. India … will continue to be vocal about the need for adequate finance for the global south,” points out the statement.
“Currently much of the … climate discussions are focused on investments in mitigation actions,” reads the Indian statement, echoing the concern of several climate activists expressed earlier. “COP 29 should maintain balance and highlight the urgency of addressing adaptation needs, particularly for vulnerable communities in developing countries.”
Major parts of India, including the Sunderbans in West Bengal; northeast states, particularly Assam and Tripura; and Bihar, needs adaptation finance to counter the burgeoning impacts of climate change that affects millions frequently.
“COP 29 should ensure that the climate finance is adequate, predictable, accessible, grant-based, low interest, and long term” reads the statement; which also states that it expects that “ at COP 29, there are additional commitments for mechanisms to finance loss and damage”; a financial instrument linked several vulnerable communities in the country.
India, which was in conflict with the developed countries at Madrid COP in 2019 on an earlier mechanism of carbon marketing, has pointed out that “COP 29 should be able to agree to a mechanism which uses market-based instruments (such as carbon credits) to incentivise low-carbon development”.
“COP 29 should raise both the quantum and quality of climate finance. As we debate the New Collective Quantified Goal, the question is not just how much is needed, but how reliably it will be delivered,” observed Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of environment think tank CEEW, told this correspondent at Baku.