India Leads in Climate Finance Contributions, Outshining Developed Nations

In 2022, India contributed USD 1.28 billion in climate finance through multilateral development banks, surpassing several developed nations. A report by ODI and Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance highlights the shortfall in contributions from wealthy nations, stressing the need for equitable burden-sharing mechanisms and enhanced accountability in climate finance commitments.

India contributed USD 1.28 billion in climate finance through multilateral development banks (MDBs) in 2022, surpassing many developed countries, according to a new analysis.

The report by ODI and Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance emerges amid calls for expanding the donor base for climate finance to include developing countries like China and Saudi Arabia.

The analysis reveals only 12 developed countries—Norway, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and Finland—met their fair share of international climate finance in 2022.

The shortfall is primarily due to the United States failing to meet its obligations, with Australia, Spain, Canada, and the United Kingdom also lagging.

The report identifies the top 30 non-Annex II countries contributing to climate finance through multilateral avenues, including India, which provided more funds than several developed nations in 2022.

China led with USD 2.52 billion, followed by Brazil, South Korea, and Argentina.

Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, emphasized that emerging economies are taking significant steps while wealthy nations shift responsibilities.

The UNFCCC mandates high-income countries to support developing nations in combating climate change, but the USD 100 billion annual pledge from COP15 remains unmet, eroding trust.

The OECD claims the USD 100 billion promise was met in 2022, mostly through loans, raising concerns about the genuine fiscal effort by developed countries.

ODI researchers argue for a burden-sharing mechanism in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to ensure accountability, a sentiment echoed by many developing countries.

(With inputs from agencies.)