Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Climate Finance Gap
- Developing countries need $310-365 billion annually by 2035 for climate change adaptation (~₹27 lakh crore).
- This is nearly 12 times more than money currently flowing from developed to developing world.
- Analysis appears in “Running on Empty” annual UN report released ahead of COP-30 in Belem, Brazil.
Current Finance Flows
- International public adaptation finance to developing countries stood at $26 billion in 2023 (down from $28 billion in 2022).
- COP-26 Glasgow target: double adaptation finance to $40 billion by 2025 will be “missed” if trends continue.
Climate Finance Components
- Adaptation: deal with climate change impacts; Mitigation: move away from fossil fuels sustainably.
- Compensation for losses and damages already occurring; collectively called “climate finance” for developing nations.
COP-29 Disappointment
- Developing countries demanded $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 at COP-29 Baku, Azerbaijan last year.
- Developed world agreed to only $300 billion called New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) disappointing nations.
- UN report calls financial resources “woefully inadequate” for meeting growing climate risk challenges.
- Requires “global collective effort” to increase climate finance to $1.3 trillion per Baku-Belém Roadmap.
Debt Concerns
- 70% international public adaptation finance was concessional in 2022-23 but structure remains problematic.
- “Worrisome” that debt instruments dominate flows comprising 58% on average in 2022-23 financial year.
- Developing nations receiving primarily debt-based finance rather than grants raising sustainability concerns significantly.
Q- Discuss the priorities for COP30 in Belém. How can developing countries like India balance economic growth with climate action while protecting vulnerable communities? (15 marks, 250 words)