Developed Nations Must Cooperate More On Climate Finance: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday regretted that developed countries have not fulfilled their USD 100 billion commitment to developing nations to fight climate change and stressed that what is needed is more global cooperation and less talk.

She noted that India has fulfilled all its commitments made at the COP21 climate change conference using its own funds and the country is gradually moving towards adopting renewable energy.

The minister said already five years have passed since the developed countries committed to jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year to address the needs of the developing nations.

"(USD) 100 billion is still on. Five years or six years have gone by. We've not seen anything of that, not just we, no other country has seen it. Island nations are drowning. Coastal areas are getting eroded. Unusual events of rain, which should happen over three or four months, pours on a single day. These are not things which (are) isolated in some part of the world. It's across the board," she said.

Addressing FICCI Leads 2022 event, Ms Sitharaman said all countries would have to do something towards mitigating the impact of climate change, but there is no transfer of technology or funds happening from developed nations.

"But no transfer of technology will happen, no monies will be pulled in to collectively help countries. But yet every one of us want the ambition to be even further, higher and higher. It's just not going to be possible for many countries.

"We clearly are showing progress towards renewable, we are moving towards solar.. But that is the scale at which we are doing it because we commit ourselves and we believe in it. So the one thing which, if I were to ask, we need (is) more global cooperation, probably less talk," she said. 

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