‘Must put pressure on developed countries to deliver on promises’

Nagpur: 100 days ahead of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), experts from the country have sought the global leaders’ focus on burning issues that are causing the world’s temperature to rise and leading to climate crisis.
COP 26, which is scheduled to be held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12, is expected to be a crucial climate summit since the signing of Paris Agreement in 2015. While governments are expected to come forward with tougher climate targets, experts have highlighted three vital targets for the high-pressure negotiations -- Support package for developing countries.
Stating that the countries are off-track when it comes to pledges to avoid breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius, climate finance, carbon markets and stricter greenhouse gases cuts, climate experts stressed that economies need to deliver strong plans. “COP26 holds enormous significance in the wake of the pandemic and puts extra pressure on the developed countries to deliver on the promises. It should focus on the needs of the vulnerable countries by prioritizing adaptation and loss and damage as key investment areas, and strive to appeal to the collective conscience of the rich countries to meet and extend the USD100 billion agreed under the Paris accord,” said Nambi Appadurai, Director of Climate Resilience Practice at World Resources Institute (WRI), India.
Highlighting that the focus of COP26 would be to have countries committing to net zero target, Vibhuti Garg, energy economist lead at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), India said, “Developed countries will have to take more onus and help developing countries with technology and finance. It is critical that all countries are able to commit coal peaks first and then strategize how and by when they will be able to achieve a net zero.”
In a recent interview with TOI, COP26 president Alok Sharma had stressed on the importance of net zero. Stating that the issue will find a place in the larger narrative of climate talks this year, Vaibhav Chaturvedi, fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, said, “India will have to walk on a thin line, expressing willingness to engage and shape the net-zero debate while pushing the developed world and China to advance their net-zero years.. Delegitimizing the net-zero narrative is not an option anymore.”
Sharma had emphasized that the climate crisis should be tackled with the same urgency as Covid-19 pandemic. Experts couldn’t agree more. “Following the Covid-19 crisis, the need to deploy nature-based and sustainable urban solutions has become more compelling than ever before. For India, the way cities develop and how people move around in them are two major areas for transition. Low-carbon mobility and small but compact cities, where people can walk and cycle easily, should be at the core of future cities. Businesses and other stakeholders can bolster cleaner and wiser developmental choices, from electric mobility to energy efficient buildings and nature-based solutions,” said OP Agarwal, CEO of WRI, India.
On climate finance, the institute’s director of climate program Ulka Kelkar said, “We need rich countries to keep their decade-old promise to provide USD 100 billion of climate finance. We need countries to submit five-year climate action plans, not just net-zero announcements for 2050.”

- Tougher 2030 emission reduction targets
- Finance and broader support packages for developing countries
- Strong climate plans to ensure 1.5 degree Celsius target
- Delivery plan for climate finance to meet USD 100 billion target
- Countries committing to net-zero