BASIC countries asks developed nations to provide finances for climate change initiatives

The 30th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change has emphasized over the necessity for the Glasgow Climate Change Conference saying that it is to deliver a breakthrough on financing for developing countries, noting that "finance is the key enabler of enhanced ambition and climate action", particularly at a time when developing countries are facing multiple developmental challenges and the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

New Delhi:The 30th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, of the four industrialized nations, Brazil, India, South Africa and China, urged the developed countries to provide them climate finances. The meeting, held on Thursday, was chaired by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar. Ricardo Salles, Minister of the Environment of Brazil, HUANG Runqiu, Minister, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, XIE Zhenhua, China Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of the Republic of South Africa attended the meeting.

In a joint statement, released after the meeting, it has been stated, "The Ministers expressed their deep concern on the insufficiency and inadequacy of the support provided by developed countries to date. The scale and speed of climate finance from developed countries has to increase considerably."

"Ministers urged developed countries to present at COP-26 a clear roadmap on their continued existing obligations to mobilize USD 100 billion per year from 2021 to 2025, and to urgently initiate the process within the UNFCCC on setting the new collective quantified goal on finance as soon as possible, including a detailed roadmap outlining milestones for setting a goal prior to 2025," it further added.

The global climate meeting COP26 is being scheduled for November, 2021, at Glasgow in UK.

With respect to climate finance, the Ministers asserted that during the COP 26, a positive movement is required on various issues, including a multilaterally agreed definition of climate finance and the related methodologies for accounting, an assessment by the UNFCCC of the commitment made by the developed countries to mobilize USD 100 billion per year by 2020 and continuation of the long-term finance under the aegis of UNFCCC.

The Ministers also emphasized over the necessity for the Glasgow Climate Change Conference saying that it is to deliver a breakthrough on financing for developing countries, noting that "finance is the key enabler of enhanced ambition and climate action", particularly at a time when developing countries are facing multiple developmental challenges and the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement said, "Developed countries shall provide new and additional, sustained, predictable, adequate and timely finance, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support to developing countries with a significant public-funded component, with less conditionality and more reasonable co-financing requirements, open markets and carry out practical technological cooperation, which will serve as the basis for mutual trust and for the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. Such support must not exacerbate the existing debt crisis confronting many developing countries."

The Ministers highlighted that the key outcomes of COP 26 would be to conclude negotiations on Article 6, launch the operationalization of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), and to achieve progress on climate finance which is one of the key enablers for developing countries to implement ambitious climate actions.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar also tweeted over the matter, saying, "At the 30th BASIC ministerial on ClimateChange hosted by India, stated that the grouping is playing a vital role in raising the voice of developing countries towards securing ClimateJustice and has formulated a well laid out plan on action and ambitions."