Climate finance, tech transfer critical for combating climate change: Env Secy

Climate finance and technology transfer are critical not just for India, but for many other countries which are completely dependent on a dedicated fund for combating the impact of climate change, a top environment ministry official said Monday.

Union Environment Ministry Secretary C K Mishra said the Centre was working on a regulatory framework to facilitate climate change mitigation efforts of industry, while asserting that the industry's request for allowing a couple of years more for implementing emission norms will be granted "only if it was accompanied by a concrete roadmap of action".

"Mishra said the global pre-2020 commitments on reductions in carbon emissions were sacrosanct and emphasised that climate finance and technology transfer were critical not just for India, but for many other countries that were completely dependent on a dedicated fund for combating the impact of climate change," a FICCI statement quoting him said.

The official was speaking after inaugurating the 11th India Climate Policy and Business Conclave 2018.

"Mishra said the government was working on a regulatory framework to facilitate climate change mitigation efforts of industry," it said.

"We expect industry to make use of the new technologies to reduce carbon emissions," Mishra said.

The Union Environment Ministry secretary also said the government was working on a pilot project on developing carbon pricing instruments, particularly for the waste and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sectors, where the possibility of carbon reduction was maximum.

The two-day conclave focusses on 'Implications of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Article 6 for the Private Sector', 'Global Carbon Markets and Experiences of Different Countries', 'Business Leadership in Climate Action', among others.