Baku to Belem: Charting equitable climate pathways for the Global South
New Delhi, December 06, 2024: A high-level roundtable discussion titled ‘Future of Climate Change Negotiations: Lessons from COP29’ was held in New Delhi, offering an in-depth debriefing on the outcomes of COP29, hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event, organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), provided a platform for experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to deliberate on the critical challenges and opportunities for the Global South, particularly in the areas of climate finance, adaptation, and energy transition.
High-level roundtable focuses on COP29 outcomes and the road ahead for climate finance, adaptation, and the 2028 COP in India
The session began with an overview by Mr RR Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, who outlined the key takeaways from COP29, and shared his observation on the change in format in the current COP as compared to what it used to be ten years ago. “The COPs are increasingly marginalizing the technical foundations of outcomes and negotiating process. Most countries of the global south expressed their deep disappointment and frustration at the low ambition finance outcome at Baku. The COP decisions have made it evident that the developed world is unwilling to shoulder its responsibility of providing commensurate finance in support of developing country actions. Rather, the prospect of use of unilateral measures like CBAM against them has deepened. It is important to carry out rigorous technical assessments to create avenues to pin the developed world down to their responsibility, hold them accountable, and put pressure for fulfilling their climate obligations regarding means of implementation. Building solidarity amongst developing countries on a stronger foundation and through all available international platforms is critical to achieving a successful negotiated outcome.”
This was followed by a detailed presentation by Dr Manish Kumar Shrivastava, Associate Director, TERI, who provided insights into the implications of these developments for developing countries and emphasised on the politics and principles along with the substances involved in the core of all COPs. “While one can be pragmatic about the substantive outcomes, it is the politics and treatment of principles of global governance that are a serious cause of worry. Increasingly, burden is being shifted to developing countries and next COPs need a stronger strength of solidarity among developing countries to safeguard their interests,” underscored Dr Shrivastava.
Building on this foundation, the discussions explored the stark divide between developed and developing nations in addressing climate challenges. Participants underscored the need for India to prepare strategically for hosting COP33 in 2028, positioning itself as a global leader in equity-driven climate negotiations. The discussions were meticulously moderated by the experienced climate negotiator and expert in the sector, Mr Rashmi.
Ambassador Manjeev Puri, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, applauded India for showcasing Global South perspective. “COP29 paved way for carbon market, moved the needle on finance little bit, and left much to be done in next COPs. It is important to keep the multilateral process alive despite its deficiencies. It is a platform for developing countries to bargain in solidarity, and India showed leadership by giving voice to their concerns,” he highlighted.
Mr Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, TERI, shared his perspective on the transition in the build environment. “It was heartening to see that India was much ahead in the sector as compared to the global efforts, particularly in some cement and concrete players whose efforts towards transitioning to cleaner processes were applauded.” He emphasised the importance of integrating resilience as an ongoing process to ensure a successful outcome.
Highlighting the importance of adaptation in the climate agenda Ms Suruchi Bhadwal, Director, TERI, said, “It was disappointing to hear the discussion on Adaptation in the recently concluded COP29. There is confusion on the scale of optionalization. By exclusively focusing on developing country processes, there is a risk of duplication of the efforts. There needs to be a parallel global track that focuses on global linkages and institutions as well as indicators to track progress.” Further, “Linking the aggregated indicators, to the GGA is massive,” she added.
Ms Manavi Bhardwaj, representing India Climate Collaborative, was vocal on the role philanthropy can play in addressing the tussle between the Global North and South. “This is a good opportunity to reflect that India can continue to play in the Global South as a leader in climate negotiations.” “Philanthropy can help strengthen the solidarity between the Global South countries and enable convening of different stakeholder for a stronger alignment before the COP conference,” she further added.
Ms. Avantika Goswami, Programme Manager, Climate Change, CSE, underscored the need to clear through the fog created during COP29. She shared the extensive work in terms of the analysis and technical sessions that had gone towards preparing for COP29. “It is disappointing to see the complete and formal shifting of stands and dilution of responsibilities of the developed nations.” She expressed her doubts regarding the private sector funding towards climate finance. Speaking on multipolarity, she said, “Global South needs to build better solidarity. Coalitions need to be focused on, as much as cooperation and power building in a polarised world.”
Discussing India’s preparations for COP28, Dr Ritu Mathur, Director, TERI, expressed her views on an increased attempt to shift focus. “We need to see where we go as a country from now on. We should not further lock ourselves up in the discussion around infrastructure or fossil fuels. We should work along these lines as a country with careful assessment of sectors to go towards a net zero pathway. There should be a clean differentiation of the impact on economics and social aspects.”
Dr Prabhat Upadhyaya, representing African Climate Foundation said, “We need to go back to the drawing board to focus on what needs to be done in the next few years. In the long term we need to be mindful of the GST coinciding with the US elections. It is a time for India to begin building narrative, capacity of different stakeholders, partnerships with other countries to push developing country agenda at COP33, which India has proposed to host.”
Industry representatives emphasised the critical role of the private sector in addressing climate challenges through innovation, sustainable practices, and financial contributions. Highlighting India's leadership in transitioning to cleaner processes, they pointed out the continuing challenges in technology transfer and financial needs for the becoming Net-Zero. Welcoming the agreement on Article 6, the industry representatives pointed out that it may not be devoid of its own challenges. For industry to engage in international carbon markets is going to be a bit of a challenge as Indian carbon markets are also formalising however integration of the domestic carbon market with the international markets becomes very crucial. Harmonising of national and global standards ensuring fair value realization for domestic projects should be ensured.
As the session concluded, participants collectively reaffirmed the importance of robust preparations for COP30 in Brazil and year 2028 when India has proposed to host COP. The roundtable emphasised that the Global South must take a unified stand to champion equity, drive ambitious climate finance goals, and challenge systemic disparities in international climate governance.