India calls out lack of progress at COP29, flags climate vulnerability

India and other developing nations delivered sharp rebukes at the COP29 climate talks' first-week closing plenary in Baku, criticizing the lack of progress on climate finance and pushing back against pressure to increase their climate commitments without adequate support.

- Jayashree Nandi

Speaking close to midnight on Saturday, India's negotiator articulated growing frustration among developing countries: "We are very concerned about the progress we have made during the last week. We have seen no progress in matters that are critical for developing countries. Our part of the world is facing some of the worst impacts of climate change, with far lower capacity to recover from those impacts or to adapt to the changes to the climatic system for which we are not responsible."

The statement came as negotiations on the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance remain deadlocked, with the latest draft still showing a vast gap between proposed funding amounts—from $100 billion to $2 trillion annually.

The talks have been further complicated by developed nations' push to frame it as an "investment goal" that would include private financing.

India accused wealthy nations of shifting goalposts and consuming a "highly disproportionate share of the global carbon budget" while demanding increased climate action from developing countries.

"For the past week in this finance COP, we have been frustrated by an unwillingness to engage on this issue by our developed country partners. If there are no means of implementation, there can be no climate action," the negotiator emphasized.

The Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) group, representing about 24 nations including India, expressed particular concern about pressure to accept higher mitigation targets without corresponding financial support.

Bolivia, speaking for the LMDC, pushed back against being labeled as "blockers" in mitigation discussions, calling it "deeply disrespectful, untrue and not in good faith."