India, China, And Brazil Contributing More To Climate Finance In Comparison To Developed Countries: Analysis

The analysis said that several developing countries contribute significantly and voluntarily to provide climate finance, however, their contributions are rarely recognised due to a lack of reporting. 

Developing countries like India, China, and Brazil have contributed more to climate-related finance via multilateral development banks than many nations in the Global North, an analysis by Carbon Brief stated. The analysis was conducted by the UK-based website which reports on climate science and policy. 

The analysis cited a paper from the global think tank, Overseas Development Insitute (ODI), and said that several developing countries contribute significantly and voluntarily to provide finance for climate action, however, their contributions are rarely recognised due to a lack of reporting. 

The analysis comes at a time when developed countries have been urging to broaden the donor base for climate finance to include developing countries like China and Saudi Arabia, reported PTI. Notably, China, India, Brazil, and Russia are counted among the top 20 global climate finance providers, the analysis stated. 

The contribution from China towards climate finance stands at $1,236 million, while India has given $765 million in solidarity with other developing countries, the report said. It added that most of this finance has been provided via multilateral development banks. 

The analysis gave an instance and said in the submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regarding the expectations from global stocktake in September, New Zealand stated, “Different countries have different capabilities to contribute, which have changed over time. Current and historical emissions, national wealth, and a range of other factors have changed, and are continuing to change. Bifurcation based on thirty-year-old lists does not reflect the contemporary reality of where emissions are coming from, or respective capabilities to contribute.”

According to the UNFCCC, the onus to provide climate finance lies with Annex II countries, high-income countries that were members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) when the UN convention was signed in 1992.

As such, developed countries like the EU, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are liable to give at least $100 billion in climate finance on an annual basis to developing countries by 2020, which was extended to 2025. However, these nations have failed to honour their commitments. 

At the same time, the developing countries are not bound to any such responsibility but are encouraged to voluntarily provide climate finance under the Paris Agreement. 

Currently, the countries are trying to discuss a new climate finance target post-2022 to replace the $100 billion goal, and the developed countries are actively trying to add more contributors to the initiative. 

The analysis stressed, “These go against the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities which acknowledge that countries' efforts to combat climate change should be considered in light of their contributions to total emissions and that wealthier nations should bear primary responsibilities due to their substantial historical emissions.”