Representative photo BAKU: With countries expected to pledge their new climate action target by February next year, India on Tuesday asked the rich nations to show leadership in mitigation actions by not just advancing their net-zero targets but also by providing enough carbon space for developing countries to develop. "The high carbon emission development pathways of the Global North (developed countries) in the past have left very little carbon space for the Global South (developing countries). However, our growth trajectories for fulfilling the primary needs of sustainable development and poverty eradication cannot be compromised," said the country's minister of state (MoS) for environment and climate change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, while delivering India's national statement here at the high-level segment of the UN climate talks ( COP29 ).
He said, "Despite not contributing to the problem, we in the Global South are bearing a huge financial burden on account of climate actions for mitigation on the one hand, and losses and damages caused by climate change on the other, thus severely limiting our capacity to meet our developmental needs." Referring to the most critical issue of the new post-2025 finance goal, Singh said, "What we decide here on New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) must be founded on the principle of climate justice. The decisions must be ambitious and unambiguous, taking into consideration the evolving needs and priorities of the developing countries, and th.