India fulfilled climate change commitments using own funds, says Nirmala Sitharaman
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New Delhi: Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India has been meeting its climate change commitments using its own funding. She claimed that India has come up with very ambitious nationally determined goals to fight against climate change.
She also slammed the West for not making the promised funding available to developing nations.
"The commitments which we have given in COP21 earlier and COP26 subsequently are all working together with those parameters, which let's say everybody agreed in the UNFCCC. So all of us will walk the path the way we have nationally determined commitments that have been given. I'm happy to say that India somehow fulfilled its COP21 commitments given in Paris, largely out of its own funds," said the finance minister.
"Funding (for the fight against climate change) is there, but not available. Committed, but not actually been disbursed yet. So, the hundred billion that we've been talking about has not happened at all. That could be something that many countries would want to speak about, and I'll put that on my list," she added, criticising the West.
Speaking about the steel sector, she said any non-green steel coming to Europe is going to be burdened with a higher customs duty because it is dirty steel but they buy it if it pays more.
"For countries like India, where we are proving repeatedly that we are complying with the expectations and the commitments given by us if funding for developmental activities come with inbuilt conditions. Why do we do that? Because we have dirty steel, which has now got to become clean steel, but for the cost, I need this money, which is coming from the border, just spent tax. I'm sorry to speak like an activist, but that's how it looks," said the minister.
She said, "So, my non-green steel is okay for you as long as I'm paying extra, that extra is not coming for me to convert my dirty steel into green steel, good steel. Whereas I'm being given the comfort of, you may export to me, I'll buy you dirty steel provided you pay me more. And, what will I do with that money? I'll convert my dirty steel to green steel and post that, the world will come up with a situation of saying no non-green steel can be traded, sorry. And only green steel will be available. You know where. So that worries me."
She also spoke about per capita emissions and highlighted that it is actually hurting some nations.
"Is per capita emission going in favour of X, Y, and Z countries or is it going against some other country? Isn't there some kind of an element of justice, which is inbuilt when you're talking about per capita emission? Even today a very learned view on what exactly is emission and how much is happening from where. And, is it got to be only two days or is it got to be from the time industrial revolution 1.0 happened? So, there are still certain pain points which have to be addressed," she stated.
"Also, worrying for me, even as we plan our nationally determined commitments to be fulfilled, is the way in compassion but doesn't appear so much in front of your instruments through which tools, through which countries are going to be questioned or bound by certain expectations such as when you're funding development projects," she added.