Page 2 - Climate Change

Too little, too distant: India rejects $300 bn climate finance at COP29

India on Sunday rejected the new climate finance package of a meagre USD 300 billion annually by 2035 for the Global South at the UN climate conference here, calling it "too little and too distant". The USD 300 billion figure is a far cry from the USD 1.3 trillion the Global South has been demanding over the past three years of talks to tackle climate change. Making a statement on behalf of India, Chandni Raina, Adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, said they were not allowed to speak before the adoption of the deal, undermining their trust in the process. "In continuation of several such incidents of not following inclusivity, not respecting country positions... We had informed the presidency, we had informed the secretariat that we wanted to make a statement prior to any decision. However, this is for everyone to see, this has been stage-managed. We are extremely disappointed," she said. "The goal is too little, too distant," Raina said, asserting that it is set for 2035, whic

Rich nations offer $300 billion annually after 10 years to Global South

Developed countries made a final offer of USD 300 billion annually by 2035 to help developing countries tackle climate change, hours after two groups of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries stormed out of the negotiating room at COP29 here. The USD 300 billion figure, however, is a far cry from the USD 1.3 trillion the Global South has been demanding in the three years of talks. The offer is part of the draft deal on a new climate finance package for developing nations, or the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will be put before countries for approval in a plenary session shortly. The new amount will replace the USD 100 billion figure pledged in 2009. The draft deal also introduces the Baku to Belem Roadmap, an important request for Africa and other developing country groups to lay out a meaningful process towards aligning the global finance system with achieving the USD 1.3 trillion goal by 2035. Issued after tiring, mind-numbing negotiations that continued fo

COP29 gets Article 6 of Paris Agreement operational, opens carbon markets

Article 6 provides trusted and transparent carbon markets for countries as they collaborate to reach their climate goals

COP29: Countries agree on deal to kickstart global carbon credit trading

The agreement, clinched roughly a decade after international talks on forming the market began, hinged on how to ensure credibility in the system so it can reliably lead to reductions in greenhouse

COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, demands 'no deal'

Civil society members staged a silent march at the UN climate summit, condemning the developed nations' proposal to increase annual climate finance to a meagre USD 250 billion by 2035. They called on the developing world to reject what they described as an "insulting" and "unjust" deal. With their arms crossed in defiance, protesters walked silently through the summit venue, where chanting is prohibited. "We urge you to stand up for the people of the Global South, and we insist: no deal in Baku is better than a bad deal, and this is a very, very bad deal because of the intransigence of developed countries," said Climate Action Network (CAN), a global coalition of more than 1,900 civil society organisations, in a letter to G77 and China, the largest bloc of developing nations. The letter urged negotiators to abandon weak agreements, saying, "If nothing sufficiently strong is forthcoming at this COP, we urge you to walk away from the table to fight another day, and we will fight the

'The Nature of Nature' book review: False solutions for climate change

This book is a must-read for people who beat themselves up for failing to avert every environmental disaster that makes it to the news cycle

Business & climate are no longer an either-or choice, says Philippe Varin

'Over the next 30 years, we're expected to extract as many resources from the planet as we have since the beginning of human civilisation'

'India shaping global climate action while upholding own development plan'

India is playing a pivotal role in shaping global climate mechanisms while ensuring its own developmental priorities are upheld, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav stated on Thursday, amidst the ongoing climate talks in Azerbaijan. Speaking at the 97th Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) under the theme 'Our Actions for Viksit Bharat' here, the minister also highlighted India's active role in shaping these global climate mechanisms, alongside its efforts to ensure that domestic priorities remain central to its approach. "Our initiatives to promote carbon and green credits align with global climate goals, while safeguarding India's developmental objectives, he noted. Providing updates on the ongoing COP29 in Baku, the minister revealed that Article 6.4 will be fully implemented at the international level. In a landmark decision on the first day of the global climate talks in Baku, COP29 officially ...

Abrupt, 'irreversible' drop in global freshwater levels, Nasa study claims

Recent data from Nasa satellites have revealed that Earth's surface has lost freshwater abruptly since 2015. This major drop coincides with a 2014 to 2016 period of El Niño warming

Transport assets worth $400 bn in India exposed to climate hazards: Report

Transport assets worth approximately USD 575 billion in South Asia, including USD 400 billion in India, are exposed to climate hazards and rapid deployment of resilience measures needed to prevent risk to the sector which contributes significantly to the region's GDP, according to a report. The South Asian region faces cascading economic losses due to climate risks, with disruptions in transport having cascading effects on key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and services among others, as per the report jointly published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). With the frequency and severity of climate events in South Asia escalating sharply in recent years, the cost of inaction in South Asia is staggering and without strategic interventions, climate risks could derail decades of development progress, the report titled 'Transport Infrastructure Reimagined: Forging Resilient Connections ' An Integrated Framework to ...

COP29 produces streamlined climate finance draft, but key issues remain

After an all-nighter, a draft text on the new climate finance package for the developing world finally dropped Thursday morning -- shrunk from 25 pages to 10, but the major sticking points remain. With less than two days left for the UN climate conference to close, negotiators face a gargantuan task to hammer it out. A quick glance at the text shows developed countries are still dodging a key question: How much climate finance are they ready to give developing countries every year starting in 2025? This has led to significant frustration among developing countries, who have repeatedly said they need at least USD 1.3 trillion to tackle the escalating challenges. "The revised draft text, while more streamlined, presents a spectrum of options -- some good, some bad, and some outright ugly," said Harjeet Singh, a climate activist and Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. He said it acknowledges the need for public funds from developed ...

COP29: At climate talks, draft of deal gives little clarity on climate cash

A new draft text released early Thursday which will form the basis of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay. Negotiators at the talks known as COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, are trying to close the gap between the $1.3 trillion the developing world says is needed in climate finance and the few hundred billion that richer nations have been prepared to pay. But the draft text "presents two extreme ends of the aisle without much in between", said Li Shuo, Asia Society Policy Institute Director. Other than capturing the ground standing of both sides, this text hardly does anything more. Rob Moore, Associate Director at European think tank E3G said that negotiators need to make a huge amount of progress over the next few days and the road to agreement will need to see rapid and candid engagement, with numbers on the ...

Developing nations demand upto $900 bn in public climate finance at COP29

Developing countries are asking for up to USD 900 billion in public funding from a total of USD 1.3 trillion they seek from developed nations in the new climate finance package for reducing emissions and adapting to the growing impacts of climate change. Negotiators told PTI that the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) group has called for USD 600 billion in public funding, supplemented by private finance at concessional rates to meet the USD 1.3 trillion goal. Meanwhile, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is pushing for USD 900 billion in government funding, while the Arab Group has proposed USD 440 billion. Although developed countries have yet to officially propose a figure, their negotiators indicated that European Union nations are discussing a global climate finance target of USD 200 billion to USD 300 billion per year. EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters that developed countries want to ascertain the package's components before committing to a

India drops 2 places but remains among top 10 climate performers: Report

India remained in the top 10 on a list of 63 countries assessed for efforts to combat climate change, despite dropping two spots compared to an year ago, thanks to its low per-capita emissions and rapid deployment of renewables, a report said on Wednesday. The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI 2025) -- published by think tanks Germanwatch, New Climate Institute, and Climate Action Network International -- tracks the progress of the world's largest emitters in terms of emissions, renewables, and climate policy. The 63 countries, along with the European Union, assessed in the CCPI are responsible for 90 per cent of global emissions. India ranks 10th in this year's CCPI, remaining among the highest performers. The CCPI report, however, noted that significant changes in India's climate policy are unlikely. The growth-oriented approach to climate action is expected to continue or intensify, driven by rising energy demand from industry and the growing population, it said. The repor

Time runs down for negotiators at COP29 to find deal to curb global warming

With time running down, negotiators at the United Nations annual climate talks on Wednesday returned to the puzzle of finding an agreement to bring far more money for vulnerable nations to adapt than wealthier countries have shown they're willing to pay. Pressure was building to drive a deal by the time COP29, as this year's summit is known, concludes this week. COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev asked negotiators to clear away the technical part of talks by Wednesday afternoon so they can focus on substance. That substance is daunting. Vulnerable nations are seeking USD 1.3 trillion to deal with damage from climate change and to adapt to that change, including building out their own clean-energy systems. Experts agree that at least USD 1 trillion is called for, but both figures are far more than the developed world has so far offered. Half the world away in Rio, Brazil, where the Group of 20 summit was wrapping up on Tuesday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told

COP29: India asks rich nations to keep climate adaptation commitments

India has called on developed countries to step up their support for climate adaptation in developing countries, saying the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is putting the survival of people, especially in poor nations, at risk. Speaking at a high-level ministerial dialogue on adaptation on Tuesday, India highlighted that the developing world is disproportionately suffering from the impacts of climate change, which are largely the result of historical emissions by developed countries. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are adversely affecting the lives and livelihood of those in the developing world, putting their very survival at risk, Indian negotiator Rajasree Ray said. India recalled that the UAE framework for global climate resilience adopted at COP28 last year emphasises the urgent need for enhanced support from developed countries. This mobilisation should go beyond the previous efforts, supporting the country driven ...

COP29: Climate talks in Baku enter final stretch; what happens next

The talks, which began on Nov. 11, are due to end on Friday at 1400 GMT, but COP summits have a history of running long

COP29: Farmers argue for share of money dedicated to fight climate change

Extreme heat ruined the pineapples on Esther Penunia's small farm in the Philippines this year, more disappointment than catastrophe since Penunia doesn't depend on the farm for a living. But Penunia worries about the millions of small farmers in her part of the world who do depend on rice paddies, coconut groves and vegetable patches that are all threatened by climate change. That's why she's hoping that countries at this year's United Nations climate summit will dedicate some of the money for fighting climate change to agriculture and the family farmers who feed most of the people in many parts of the world. You don't help small farmers, where will you get your food from?" wondered Penunia, secretary general of the Asian Farmers Association. "Who will farm for you? Who will catch the fish, who will get the honey, who will plant your vegetables? Many countries, especially in the Global South, need money to help pay for the months of recovery when typhoons wreck fields, to insure .

COP29: UN climate chief calls for focus on climate action through politics

As the COP29 summit entered the second week, the UN climate chief called on Monday for swift resolution of less contentious issues and an urgent focus on major political decisions to advance global climate action. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urged delegates to shed "bluffing and brinkmanship" and focus on pragmatic solutions to overcome the critical challenges ahead. During the plenary session here, Stiell stressed the need for collaborative progress. "We can't lose sight of the forest because we're tussling over individual trees," he remarked, warning against the stalling tactics of you-first-ism, where parties refuse to act until others take the lead. He emphasised that such approaches risk halting progress entirely. This is a recipe for going literally nowhere, Stiell said, adding that only parallel efforts from all parties could ensure a robust outcome. Azerbaijan, The Presidency of COP29 was praised for its ...

COP29: Young activists push for hope amid frustration at UN climate talks

Young people who attend the United Nations climate talks have a lot to be angry about. They've lost loved ones and months of school. They've lost homes and family farms and connections to their families' native lands. They haven't lost hope, though. Not yet. It has become so tiring for me to be just a poster child, said Marinel Ubaldo, who by age 16 had watched two back-to-back supersized typhoons destroy entire communities in her native Philippines. Missing a chunk of high school in the aftermath, because there was no school to go back to, was a wake-up call. Now 27, COP29 will be her sixth time attending the summit where leaders negotiate the future she will inherit. I guess I'm very pessimistic, but I'm going to be positive that this COP could actually bring more clarity, she said. Her pessimism isn't unwarranted. Fewer leaders were in attendance this year, with a backdrop of uncertainty as political will on climate unravels in major countries like the US and Germany. While many