Kochi: The lack of leadership on the part of developed countries, especially their “backtracking on finance and mitigation commitments and pledges”, is a matter of grave concern, said Brazil, South Africa, India and China in a meeting conducted on the sidelines of the ongoing COP27 in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh on November 15.
India also reiterated its stand on climate justice and just transitions at the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said that for India, just transition meant a low-carbon development strategy that ensured, among other things, that no one is left behind.
Developed countries ‘backtracking’ on commitments
Ministers representing the BASIC Group – a bloc consisting of the four newly industrialised countries of Brazil, South Africa, India and China that was constituted in 2009 – pledged their support to the Egyptian COP27 presidency for a successful conference.
In a statement delivered on November 15, they said that the inclusion of a funding arrangement for loss and damage (economic and non-economic losses caused by the impacts of climate change) as a dedicated agenda item based on the recommendation of developing countries, was “a welcome development”.
BASIC countries are ‘leading from the front’ and have taken several steps pertaining to climate action since COP26 in Glasgow.
The ministers highlighted the urgent need for climate finance for developing countries, calling for a “fundamental transformation and modernisation of the global financial architecture” through means such as reforming multilateral development banks such that they can support sustainable development and just transitions to clean energy.
However, BASIC countries are “gravely concerned” about the lack of leadership from developed countries, the statement said.
“There has been backtracking on finance and mitigation commitments and pledges by developed countries,” the statement read. “There has also been a significant increase in the consumption and production of fossil fuels in the past year by developed countries, even as they continue to press developing countries to move away from the same resources. Such double standards are incompatible with climate equity and justice.”
Also read: COP27: Developing Countries Call For ‘Urgent Political Will’ to Establish Loss and Damage Fund
Another concern that the statement highlighted is that developed countries are still yet to deliver on the promised climate finance of $100 billion per year (for every year since 2009 when the goal was set). The new collective quantified goal by developed countries should go beyond $100 billion per year, they said.
The statement also called out developed countries for not meeting their promised pre-2020 commitments pertaining to mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation and support. This should be done immediately and “without transferring any burden and responsibility to developing countries”, the statement read.
“Unilateral measures and discriminatory practices, such as carbon border taxes, that could result in market distortion and aggravate the trust deficit amongst parties, must be avoided,” it said.
This is a stand that BASIC countries took as early as 2021, when the European Union (EU) began considering the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and agreed on an approach to go about it this year.
Carbon border taxes are import duties placed on products based on the carbon emissions generated during the course of their production. The EU’s CBAM, which will apply to products in the cement, aluminum, fertiliser, electricity production, iron and steel sectors, has been touted as an “environmental measure” to offset its carbon emissions and to “encourage partner countries to establish carbon pricing policies to fight climate change”.
However, experts have argued that such a border tax departs from the multilateral Paris Agreement’s concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR) which recognises that poor countries emit less carbon per capita than developed countries, and that their carbon emissions will increase as their incomes rise over time. The tax could, therefore, affect developing countries disproportionately.
India clarifies its stand on climate justice
At the meeting, Yadav listed the steps India has taken towards climate action. These include the recent submission of India’s long-term low-carbon development strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the push towards developing green hydrogen as a fuel, expansion of renewable energy sources and the proposal to develop green bonds as a market mechanism, among others.
He reiterated India’s stand on the issues of equity and climate justice, as well as on just transitions. Regarding the former, he said that India believes that all countries are entitled to their fair share of the global carbon budget. (Developed countries have already taken up huge shares of this due to their historical emissions.)
“Physical access to the remaining carbon budget must be provided by developed countries reaching net zero much earlier than their current target dates,” he said.
“Just transition cannot mean decarbonisation for all countries,” he added. “For India, just transition means transition to a low-carbon development strategy over a time scale that ensures food and energy security, growth and employment, leaving no one behind in the process.”