India calls for a boost in adaptation finance at COP29 | Latest News India #IndiaFinance

While India is currently funding its adaptation needs from domestic sources, the county would need a capital of $854.16 billion to develop adaptation measures, it said during a high-level ministerial dialogue on climate change adaptation at COP29.

“Adaptation financing has been primarily from domestic resources. We are currently developing our National Adaptation Plan. In our Initial Adaptation Communication submitted to the UNFCCC last year, we outlined that the requirements for building adaptation capital could rise to about $854.16 billion. Clearly, a significant boost in adaptation finance flows is essential,” India’s lead negotiator said, underlining that the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) needs to address slow disbursements, lack of flexibility to adapt to changing requirements, and complex approval procedures.

The negotiator also highlighted that while developing countries were highly vulnerable to impacts of climate crisis, their contribution to historical emissions was miniscule compared to developed nations.

“Developing countries are suffering the impacts of climate change largely due to the historical emissions of developed countries. For us as developing countries, our people’s lives — their very survival — and their livelihoods are at stake,” the negotiator said.

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“NCQG for the period post-2025 needs to be an ambitious mobilization target at grant/concessional term. An important aspect that needs to be addressed is the slow disbursements, lack of flexibility to adapt to changing requirements, and long complex approval procedures with stringent eligibility criteria that make it difficult to access climate finance,” the negotiator said.

“The CoP28 Global Stocktake decision emphasized the need to bridge the tremendous gap in adaptation, gaps in implementation that arise from the lack of sufficient attention and resources. Additionally, at CoP28, parties to the Paris Agreement adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. This framework acknowledges the urgent need for enhanced support and implementation resources from Developed countries to help Developing countries meet adaptation targets. This mobilization should go beyond previous efforts, supporting country-driven strategies while respecting the unique needs of developing countries,” the statement from India said.