India to push for accountability, fair financing, green credit at COP29

India's approach at COP29 focuses on accountability, green credit, fair financing, and incremental goals for its developing economy, multiple delegates said on Monday as the latest edition of the world's most important meeting on climate change kickstarted here.

The 29th session of the climate change conference of parties (COP29) is being held from November 11-22 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. 

While moderate in terms of attendance and scale, India's primary priorities at the conference are expected to include holding developed nations accountable for climate finance, enhancing resilience for vulnerable communities, and advancing an equitable energy transition, a delegate said.

Another focus area for India would be to promote green credit and the LiFe (Lifestyle for Environment) philosophy towards sustainability, another delegate said.

A member of the delegation said that India's COP29 strategy is expected to challenge developed nations on the gaps in fulfilling climate pledges and drive conversations toward more transparent, reliable climate finance. 

In a departure from past conferences, India will not host a pavilion at COP29.

This absence comes as India balances its role as a developing nation with rising energy demands and a focus on economic growth, particularly as the world looks to emerging economies for leadership in reducing emissions.

At the opening of the COP29 session here, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell delivered a rallying call to global leaders, emphasising the urgency of coordinated action on climate change.

Stiell's address highlighted that despite incremental progress, COP remains the sole forum for addressing the escalating climate crisis globally.

"This United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process is the only place we have to address the rampant climate crisis, and to credibly hold each other to account to act on it," he said, underscoring the critical nature of these negotiations. He pointed out that without the framework of the UN's climate agreements, humanity could be on a trajectory toward a catastrophic five degrees of warming.

The Indian delegation at the conference will be led by MoS for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh as Leader of Delegation, Leena Nandan (Secretary) as Deputy Leader of Delegation, Naresh Pal Gangwar (Additional Secretary) as Lead Negotiator; and, Neelesh Sah (Joint Secretary) as Deputy Lead Negotiator.

Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav is not attending the conference.