Climate finance draft sets stage for a clash

Baku summit's proposed deal wants rich countries to pay $250 bn a yr by 2035

- S DINAKAR

India and other developing nations are set to clash with the Global North, the rich side of the world, on Friday at COP29, the UN Climate Summit in Baku, over the final draft of a global climate finance plan, which ignores the needs and demands of poorer nations and leaves them exposed to the adverse effects of climate change.

The final version of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), a key requirement to keep global warming below 2 degrees centigrade from pre-industrial levels, presented on November 22, does not offer any financial solution to developing nations on how to access grants or cheap funds.

Instead, the draft shrinks the role of public financing, offering an escape route for rich nations to evade their historical responsibilities of polluting the planet.

The final version not only keeps the role of public financing ambiguous but also tries to put the burden of making contributions on developing countries. The arrow is aimed at China but could also be directed at India at a later stage, officials said.