ARRIA-FORMULA MEETING

Climate Finance for Sustaining Peace and Security

India Statement

[Wednesday, 9 March 2021; 1000 hrs]

Mr. Chairman,

We thank the delegation of United Arab Emirates for convening today’s meeting and appreciate H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of UAE, chairing today’s meeting.

2. India is second to none when it comes to climate action. Our Prime Minister made ambitious commitments in Glasgow CoP over and above the commitments made earlier. In fact, India is probably the only G20 country on course to meet its 2030 Paris targets.

3. The UN-led UNFCCC, which has a near universal membership, has been the main driver over the years to take all of us collectively forward, guided by principles and provisions agreed to by all. It is because of these principles and provisions that the fight against climate change has been a meaningful one. It represents a balanced global democratic effort where there are concrete commitments from developed countries as well as genuine requirements of developing countries as reflected in nationally determined contributions based on certain fundamental principles, foremost amongst which is CBDR.

4. Consequently, we will resist any attempt to take climate change out of UNFCCC and discuss it separately without these principles and provisions. And that is precisely why we do not subscribe to the UN Security Council as a place to discuss this issue. In fact, we view this as an attempt by developed countries to evade responsibility under UNFCCC and divert the world's attention from an unwillingness to deliver where it counts.

Mr. Chairman,

5. The reality is that the developed countries have fallen short of their promises not just on mitigation but also on providing access to climate finance and technologies. Consequently, the attempt to link climate with security seeks to obfuscate lack of progress on critical issues under UNFCCC.

6. Affordable access to climate finance and technologies is critical to move forward on climate action. Developed countries must provide climate finance of $1 trillion at the earliest. As per UNFCCC Provisions, climate change finance has to be ‘new and additional’ and climate specific; and not just diverted from existing levels of ODA towards climate finance.

7. The IPCC Climate Report released last week states that the “climate finance for adaptation is insufficient and constrains implementation of adaptation; and that globally tracked climate finance is targeted at mitigation and only a small proportion towards adaptation.” Let us focus on issues that are vital to developing countries and not get side tracked under the guise of security. {To place things in perspective, it is indeed ironical that unmet commitments such as mobilizing USD 100 billion per year are less than the money National Football League makes from media rights alone!}

8. We recognize the fact that climate change may have exacerbated conflicts in certain parts of Africa and Sahel. But viewing conflicts only through the prism of climate change is misleading. Over-simplification of causes of conflict will not help in resolving them; worse, it can be misleading. There is no common, widely accepted methodology for assessing the links between climate change, conflict and fragility; as they are highly context specific.

9. Even the latest IPCC report states that “non-climatic factors are the dominant drivers of existing intrastate violent conflicts”, and while “in some assessed regions extreme weather and climate events have had a small, adverse impact on their length, severity or frequency, the statistical association is weak”. The same report mentions that “Violent conflicts in the near-term will be driven by socio-economic conditions and governance more than by climate change”.

10. India will always support real climate action and serious climate justice. We will always speak up for the interests of the developing world, including Africa, the Sahel region and Small Island Developing States. And we will do so at the place it deserves – the UNFCCC.

11. To conclude, we do hope deliberations of today’s meeting will provide valuable inputs for making developed countries deliver on their climate finance commitments.

I thank you.

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