India will meet its NDC commitments: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla

The Foreign Secretary's comments came days ahead of the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow from November 1.

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New Delhi: India is well on its way to meet targets set under the Paris accord and it expects fulfilment of commitments in facilitating financial resources and technologies in helping developing countries confront climate change, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday.

His comments came days ahead of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Glasgow.

"We are well on our way to meeting our NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) commitments and even doing better than that," he said at a media briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Rome and Glasgow to participate in the G20 summit and COP-26 meet respectively.

The NDCs are long-term goals and they embody efforts by each country to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"We are looking forward to a COP-26 that would bring forth fair and objective discussions and a balanced outcome," Shringla said.

The developed countries promised to allocate USD 100 billion annually to developing countries to deal with climate change.

Modi will leave for Glasgow from Rome on October 31 to attend COP-26. He will participate in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled 'World Leaders' Summit' from November 1 to 2.

The prime minister will leave for Rome on Friday.

In a pre-departure statement, Modi said India is taking ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency.

"Today, India is creating new records in collective effort for climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience and forging multilateral alliances," he said.

The prime minister said India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy, wind and solar energy capacity.

"I will also highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space, support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience building measures, mobilization of finance, technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth," he said.

Shringla said India would like to see the fulfilment of such promises by the developed countries.

"The quantum of such financing is also, in our view, inadequate. You need much more financing in order to reach the goals that have been set," he said.

Shringla said providing financial resources and technology to developing countries is key to helping them meet their climate goals.

"This is something that will occupy the leaders and negotiators, this is something that we expect to see some outcomes on, not only in terms of commitments," he said.

Shringla said a global green bridge initiative with the theme of one sun, one world and one grid under the International Solar Alliance will be launched on the sidelines of the COP-26.

The COP-26 is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the presidency of the UK which is partnering with Italy for the event.

It is being billed as one of the biggest ever congregations of world leaders and experts in combating climate change.

The Paris Agreement of 2015 requires each party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive NDCs that it intends to achieve.