India opposes EU plan for border tax on carbon-intensive goods | India News – Times of India

BAKU: Met COP29 negotiations Entering its second week, India on Monday opposed any unilateral trade barrier and pitched for “four key aspects of global climate action”, saying the ambitious, action-oriented approach depends on bold actions from countries (developed countries whose high historical emissions have led to climate change) is obliged to take the lead in reducing emissions across the economy.
In an apparent reference to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), New Delhi pointed out how some countries are moving to “unilateral measures”, resulting in shifting the financial burden of mitigation measures to developing countries. CBAM is a tool to put a price on imposing border taxes on carbon-intensive goods, such as iron and steel, aluminum and cement, entering the EU. Once implemented from 2026, it will put a tariff burden on such products from developing countries, including India and China, and impact their trade.
“There is a need to recognize the negative impact on developing countries due to such unilateral trade measures in the context of climate change,” said Leena Nandan, India’s environment secretary and deputy leader of the country’s delegation, while intervening during the high-level ministerial meeting. round table conference on the ambition before 2030.
The four aspects of global climate action highlighted by India include the need to scale up innovative actions through “barrier and restriction-free” technology transfer; climate financing to enable and implement climate actions; strengthening international cooperation; and mutual trust.
India also underlined that developing countries should not be burdened with the failure of rich countries to meet their pre-2020 mitigation targets, and that developed countries should not create intellectual property barriers to the scale-up and transfer of technologies to the developing countries.
“New technologies and solutions are needed to stimulate the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, innovation in areas such as clean energy, carbon removal, etc. is still at an early stage and there are barriers to scale-up and transfer to the developing world,” the Environment Minister said.
Nandan placed the onus of making COP29 a success on rich countries, saying this is an opportunity for developed countries to promote confidence and achieve key milestones in climate ambitions by 2030. “Achieving net zero by developed countries would lay the foundation for a more sustainable and resilient world in this crucial decade and for decades to come,” she said.
On a crucial financial issue, considered at the core of the ongoing negotiation process, the Secretary said: “COP29 is a milestone for the COP on climate finance. It must ensure that long-pending commitments from developed countries to provide substantial financial resources are made and that such climate finance is fair and accessible.”