Rich nations should reduce their carbon footprint 'well before' 2050: PM

Rich nations pledged in 2009 to raise $100 bn annually by 2020 to assist developing countries in combating and adjusting to climate change. Despite extensions, they haven't met this commitment

Rich nations should completely reduce their carbon footprint "well before" 2050, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday while calling on the world to deliver a concrete outcome on finance to help developing and poor nations combat climate change.

Addressing a session on 'Transforming Climate Finance' at COP28 here, Modi said India expects concrete and real progress on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a fresh post-2025 global climate finance goal.

"Developed countries should completely reduce their carbon footprint well before 2050," he said.

Rich nations pledged in 2009 to raise USD 100 billion annually by 2020 to assist developing countries in combating and adjusting to climate change. Despite extensions to 2025, these nations have not met this commitment.

COP28 aims to establish the groundwork for a fresh post-2025 global climate finance goal, succeeding the USD 100 billion target. Countries aim to finalize this new goal by COP29 in 2024.

Modi said that there should be no shortfall of money in the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund and that these be immediately replenished.

The Green Climate Fund, which was proposed at the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen and began raising money in 2014, hasn't come close to its goal of USD 100 billion annually.

The Adaptation Fund is a UN-backed fund that provides grants and loans to help developing countries adjust to climate impacts.

Released ahead of the Dubai climate talks, the United Nations' "Adaptation Gap Report 2023 said despite the clear signs of accelerating climate risks and impacts worldwide, the adaptation finance gap is widening and now stands at between USD 194 billion and USD 366 billion per year.

Modi also said that multilateral development banks should provide affordable finance not just for development but also for climate action.

The prime minister said India and other countries in the Global South have contributed little to the climate crisis but are impacted the most.

"Despite the lack of resources, these nations are committed to climate action," he said.

"Climate finance and technology are important to fulfil the aspirations of the Global South," the prime minister said, adding that the countries of the Global South expect all possible help from the developed countries to address the climate crisis.