By David Stanway
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Rich nations have left a “leadership vacuum” in climate policy and should provide trillions of dollars to help developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions, the Group of 10 rich nations including Brazil, South Africa, India and China said late on Wednesday.
Ministers from the four countries met in the Chinese city of Wuhan earlier this week and expressed concern about industrialized nations “backsliding” on their climate pledges, according to a joint statement released by China’s environment ministry.
They called on developed countries to set ambitious new targets to reach net zero “significantly before 2050 (and) preferably by 2030” and achieve “net negative” emissions immediately after that, the statement said.
The bloc said a key task at this year’s COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan would be to set a new climate finance target, known as a new collective quantitative target, which it described as a “key enabler” for developing countries to set ambitious new targets before next year’s deadline.
Signatories to the Paris Agreement have committed to submit new “nationally determined contributions” to the United Nations by February next year, and to show greater ambition if they are able to do so.
The BASIC countries said climate finance for the developing world needs to increase “from billions to trillions” of US dollars annually, and said it should be divided equally between climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Much of the debate over the new funding target has centered around the donor base, with some wealthier countries arguing that countries like China or Saudi Arabia – even though they are still considered “developing” – should also make contributions.
The World Bank Group said in a statement that developed countries were seeking to “dilute” their climate finance commitments and that calls to broaden the shareholder base were a distraction from “core issues.”
The four countries also criticised “unfair” trade policies such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), saying “protectionist measures by some developed countries seriously threaten the global green transition”.
They called on developed countries to end “trade-distorting support” for agriculture and energy, which affects sustainable development in the developing world.
