COP27: India's demand goes missing in 1st draft

As climate negotiators from 190-plus nations went into a huddle at COP27, the UNFCCC on Thursday released an informal first draft of the outcome document without accommodating India’s demand of “phasing down of all fossil fuels” instead of just coal.

There was also no mention of any road-map on the availability of climate finance to the developing world.

The draft encourages “continued efforts to accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out and rationalise inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, once again singling out coal on which the economies of India and other developing nations depend a lot.

Read | COP27 falls short on Loss and Damage funding

Nearly the same language was used in the Glasgow climate deal last year. An environment ministry spokesperson said the ministry did not wish to comment "as negotiations are going on". Putting only coal under the scanner is one of the five key contentious issues on which there is no agreement so far.

Earlier, India had spoken against an effort by rich nations on quick removal of coal from the economy, which would hamper the poverty alleviation targets of the developing world and restrict their economic aspirations.

"In climate action, no sector, no fuel source and no gas should be singled out for action," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) ministerial meeting on Tuesday. "In the spirit of the Paris Agreement, countries will do what is suitable as per their national circumstances."

Yadav said India should be provided its equitable and fair share of the full carbon budget by "monetising the carbon debt of the developed countries."

Loss and damage is another big sticking point, with the negotiations hitting a deadlock at Sharm el Sheikh on the need to create a separate fund for the purpose.

While developing countries want a dedicated fund, the USA, European Union and other industrialised nations are opposed to such an idea even though they said they were open to discussion on channelling the Loss and Damage funding through existing programmes and institutions.

A global pledge to eliminate methane is another contentious issue, with China, India and Russia staying away from a global plan to cut down the emission of the greenhouse gas by 30% in this decade to avoid breaching the global warming guard rail of 1.5 degree Celsius.

India is unlikely to agree to the methane pact that would drastically impact the paddy production.

The much-debated Mitigation Work Programme and Adaptation Fund are other two controversial subjects.