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Finance will be a dominating theme in the COP27, currently underway at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. At a recent webinar hosted by Climate Trends, a capacity-building company based in Delhi, R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI India and a former representative of India at climate talks, noted that the capital flows to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have been very little. Only $3–4 billion of GCF's $10–12 billion overall capitalization has come from external sources.
Read moreConsidering the particularly fraught world in which COP 27 is set to unfold, and the continuing and devastating impacts of extreme weather events felt across the globe, it is imperative that the session at Sharm el-Sheikh engages with and tries to resolve issues related to long-term climate finance and the mechanisms for loss and damage, says Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI.
Read moreThis year's COP will be primarily focused on enabling climate finance, and India will push for better financing options and opportunities for G20 nations. Mr R R Rashmi, call for setting a principle of finance. Just like there is a principle for nationally determined contributions, he argued there must also be a principle for contribution, which right now doesn’t exist.
Read more“The figure of USD 100 billion for developing countries was agreed upon much before the Paris Agreement was signed. Based on the Nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the total cumulative financing requirements of the developing world is anything in the range of USD 5.8-5.9 trillion till 2030,”said Mr R R Rashmi, distinguished fellow, TERI, and former climate negotiator under UNFCCC.
Read moreAs nations gather for COP27 in Egypt, the failure of rich countries to keep promises – partly due to Russia’s war in Ukraine – has led to scepticism in a year marked by repeated climate disasters in South Asia. In a recent webinar, Mr Dipak Dasgupta, TERI, addressed the question of where this money might come from, stating that the majority of the money will have to come from private sources, but the public money that developed countries promised is crucial as a guarantor of the loans that
Read moreWhile Loss and Damage funding being added to the official agenda is historic, financing mechanisms to ensure powerful outcomes remain elusive. The inclusion of the loss and damage issue as a topic on the COP agenda is welcomed, but Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, notes that this is linked to the outcomes of the CMA, Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, which is different from COP.
Read moreClimate finance is necessary for mitigation because large-scale investments are required to reduce emissions significantly. Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute, said India hasn't benefited much from the $100 billion climate finance.
Read moreThe absence of a definition allows developed countries to greenwash their finances and pass off loans as climate-related aid. According to Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, and former climate negotiator under UNFCCC, any consensus on an enhanced scale of financial mobilization could be a welcome takeaway from COP27.
Read moreSome groups of countries tend to think that all the financing for fossil fuels should be stopped and restricted. The problem with this, among other things, is that it ignores the efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals that many countries are making. Moving away from fossil fuels has to be a country-driven process. It is best left to them to decide which sectors to address first rather than addressing it globally, said Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow at TERI.
Read moreIndia may be the third largest emitting country in the world, but our position in absolute emissions is far, far lower than others. While India had its own growth plan that required a robust energy regime, nevertheless, the country had taken measures across transport, manufacturing, and power that would reduce climate impacts versus a 'business-as-usual' case, said Mr R R Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI.
Read moreMs Suruchi Bhadwal, Director, Earth Science and Climate Change, TERI said extreme weather events in our regions have shown that the effects of climate change are increasing, and more and more people are being affected. The need to transform our energy systems is obvious, requiring support for technology/ best practice development and deployment at scales.
Read moreBetween 2016–2021, extreme events triggered by climate change caused damage to crops in over 36 million hectares and a $3.75 billion loss for farmers in the country. Ms Suruchi Bhadwal, Director for Earth Science and Climate Change, TERI, said the impacts of climate change are already being experienced with an increase in extreme weather events with more and more people and infrastructure affected.
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