India seeks green dollars as Gates mutes climate doom

As climate negotiators head to Belém, India plans to lead the charge on finance and technology.

- S DINAKAR

This concluding part examines whether COP30 can deliver real capital for the Global South or remain another ritual of targets, timelines, and tempered expectations

India, nearly invisible at last year’s 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, plans a louder presence in Belém.

In Baku, even Pakistan and Bangladesh set up bright stalls while India sent only a small team of climate officials. That low profile jarred for a nation growing fastest among major economies — and among the fastest in emissions. This year, officials say, New Delhi will push hard for accountability on finance and technology, pressing the Global North to own its historical emissions and finally honour its funding pledges.

Also pending are the operational rules for Article 6, the United Nations’ (UN’s) international carbon-trading framework, adopted in the final hours of COP29. Brazil, this year’s host and a biofuel powerhouse, is keen on securing major funds to halt Amazon deforestation.

“COP29 was an improvement, especially with the new quantified finance goal — raising the commitment from $100 billion to $300 billion annually by 2035,” said Vibhuti Garg, director for South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “But it still falls far short of what’s needed to stay within 1.5°C.”

Gates turns down apocalypse dial