Developed nations had failed to meet the goal of annual support to developing nations, Bhupender Yadav said

Developing countries must be accorded time, policy space and support to transition towards a low emissions future, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav has said.

Developed nations had, however, failed to meet the goal of annual support to developing nations, Yadav pointed out at the opening plenary of COP 26 on Sunday.

COP 26 must also aim for recognition of Parties’ differing historical responsibilities and the developmental challenges faced by developing countries, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, he pointed out.

The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change was delivering the statement on behalf of the BASIC group of countries, comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China, at the UN Climate Change Conference underway at Glasgow.

COP 26 must aim for higher global ambition on climate finance and adaptation as well, he argued.

Yadav noted that even though COP 26 had been delayed by a year, Parties have already commenced implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and therefore, it was crucial that Paris Agreement Rulebook is concluded at COP 26.

“In doing so, full effect must be given to implementation of the principles of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and, recognition of the very different national circumstances of Parties," he pointed out.

Yadav referred to the failure of developed nations on multiple counts.

“Developed countries have not only failed to meet the $100 billion goal per year of support to developing countries each and every year since 2009, they continue to present the 2009 goal as the ceiling of their ambition all the way to 2025," he pointed out.

"In a context where developing countries, including BASIC countries, have massively stepped up their climate actions since 2009, it is unacceptable that there is still no matching ambition from developed countries on the enabling means of implementation on climate finance support.”, said the Environment Minister.

According to Yadav, COP 26 needs to be remembered as the COP where a step-change in financial support for developing countries from developed countries was initiated.

He said that along with finance, technology development and transfer and capacity-building are critical enablers of climate actions in developing countries.

“Decisions particularly on climate finance and Article 6 can significantly help enhance climate ambition. A market mechanism that facilitates private sector engagement in carbon markets could help further raise climate ambition, in addition to what is being achieved under the NDCs.”, said the Minister.

Yadav highlighted that the success of multilateralism lies in transparent, inclusive, Party-driven and consensus-based nature of the UNFCCC process and the group expects that all agenda items shall proceed in an inclusive and balanced manner, and the outcome should reflect the views of all Parties.