India provided more climate finance in 2022 than many rich nations: Report
New Delhi (PTI): India contributed USD 1.28 billion in climate finance through multilateral development banks (MDBs) in 2022, surpassing the contributions of many developed countries, according to a new analysis.
The analysis, conducted by the UK-based think tank ODI and the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance, comes amid a renewed push by some developed countries to broaden the donor base for climate finance to include developing countries like China and Saudi Arabia.
The report reveals that only 12 developed countries provided their fair share of international climate finance in 2022. These countries are -- Norway, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Finland.
Researchers noted that the significant gap in climate finance is largely due to the United States failing to contribute its fair share. Australia, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom also performed relatively poorly in this regard.
The analysis has identified the top 30 non-Annex II countries that provided substantial climate finance to developing countries in 2022 through multilateral contributions to development banks and climate funds.
This group includes former economies in transition like Poland and Russia, countries that have achieved high-income status since 1992, such as Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and middle-income countries with large populations, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines and Pakistan.
India provided USD 1.287 billion in climate finance to other developing countries through MDBs in 2022, a sum larger than what was contributed by some developed countries like Greece (USD 0.23 billion), Portugal (USD 0.23 billion), Ireland (USD 0.3 billion) and New Zealand (USD 0.27 billion).
China provided USD 2.52 billion in climate finance through MDBs in 2022, Brazil gave USD 1.135 billion, South Korea USD 1.13 billion and Argentina USD 1.01 billion.
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted in 1992, high-income, industrialised countries (referred to as Annex-II countries) are responsible for providing finance and technology to help developing countries combat and adapt to climate change. These countries, including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European Union (EU) member states, such as Germany, France and the UK, have historically benefitted from industrialisation and contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions.
At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, these developed countries pledged to jointly provide USD 100 billion each year by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, this target has not been fully met, leading to a significant finance gap. This shortfall has eroded trust and hindered climate action in developing countries.
In May, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) claimed that developed countries had met the long-standing USD 100 billion-a-year promise by providing nearly USD 116 billion in climate finance to developing countries in 2022, with nearly 70 per cent of the money given in the form of loans.
The ODI researchers pointed out that many developed countries, despite performing well in terms of climate-finance contributions, would make "markedly less progress towards meeting their fair share if the finance provided was accounted for on grant-equivalence terms" -- in other words, if it reflected their real fiscal effort.
The report calls for the inclusion of a "burden-sharing mechanism" in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to provide clarity on each country's obligations and hold countries accountable.
The NCQG refers to the new, larger amount that developed nations must mobilise annually, starting 2025, to support climate action in developing countries. Countries are expected to finalise the NCQG at this year's UN climate conference -- COP29 -- in Baku, Azerbaijan in November.
The current USD 100 billion annual climate-finance goal is a collective commitment by developed countries. Its collective nature has meant that individual developed countries are not accountable for specific sums of money, potentially reducing the overall amount of climate finance provided due to the lack of individual scrutiny.
The inclusion of a burden-sharing arrangement among developed countries could potentially strengthen the NCQG by fostering greater accountability and trust among parties, according to the ODI researchers.
Many developing countries, including India, have recently advocated for such an arrangement to enhance accountability among developed countries.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
