Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, remarked. the G20 conference he will be presiding over this weekend must encourage sharing of technology and greater funding for underdeveloped countries to combat climate change, he said on Thursday.
In the midst of record-breaking temperatures and deadly heatwaves around the world, climate scientists and activists have issued stark warnings about what would happen if leaders are unable to reach an agreement, especially for developing nations.
India has been promoted by Modi as the “Global South’s” leader, a link between developed and developing nations.
“Many countries of the Global South are at various stages of development and climate action must be a complementary pursuit,” Modi wrote in an editorial carried by several Indian outlets as well as international dailies including in Britain and Japan.
Globally, wealthier countries fell short of their commitment to give poorer countries $100 billion annually in climate funding by 2020, undermining confidence that polluters will assist impoverished nations most at fault for global warming in addressing the issues of climate change.
This weekend, the Group of 20—which includes 19 nations plus the European Union and accounts for nearly 85% of the world’s GDP and an equal percentage of its carbon emissions—will gather in New Delhi.
“Ambitions for climate action must be matched with actions on climate finance and transfer of technology,” Modi added.
“We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change.”
A July G20 energy ministers meeting fell short of producing a plan to gradually reduce the use of fossil fuels or even mentioning coal, the polluting fuel that continues to be a major source of energy for developing nations like India and China.
Although the two Asian countries are among the top polluters on the planet, they contend that past Western polluters ought to have a considerably greater share of the blame for the current global climate problem.
A move away from fossil fuels would hurt their economies, so nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia have opposed the G20’s desire for an energy and climate consensus.
“Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial,” Modi added, saying “boosting climate-smart agriculture” was one solution.
“Technology is transformative but it also needs to be made inclusive,” he said.
The G20 September 9-10 summit is the next major set of negotiations in a packed calendar of meetings crucial for action on global warming, culminating at the United Nations COP28 talks in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates starting in November.
