COP28 Commences; Modi unveils Green Credit Initiative

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DUBAI: The Conference of Parties (COP28) has begun, with a historic launch of the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund. Nearly 200 nations have agreed to fund the L&D in support of the countries affected by global warming. The United Arab Emirates, hosting the COP28, announced that fossil fuels must be included in any final climate deal negotiated over the next two weeks, and made a financial commitment of $100 million.

The L&D Fund has received financial commitments from various nations, including The United States of America ($17 million), Germany ($100 million), The United Kingdom ($50.6 million approx.), and Japan ($10 million).

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, arrived in Dubai to attend the COP28 summit and addressed the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit. He also conducted an interview with the UAE newspaper Al-Ittihad, expressing optimism that the COP28 will inject fresh momentum into effective climate action.

Modi stated, “India and the UAE are partners in shaping a greener and more prosperous future, and we remain steadfast in our joint efforts to influence the global discourse on climate action.”

Modi launched an initiative focusing on generating Green Credits through plantation on degraded wasteland. He highlighted that the Green Credits Initiative surpasses the commercial nature of carbon credits. “Carbon credits, driven by a commercial mindset, have limited scope and lack associated responsibility. We need to move away from a destructive mindset that prioritizes personal benefit,” he said.

During a session on ‘Transforming Climate Finance’, Modi called on the world to deliver a concrete outcome on finance to help developing and poor nations combat climate change. He stated, “India expects concrete and real progress on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a fresh post-2025 global climate finance goal. Also, developing countries should completely reduce their carbon footprint well before 2050.”

Modi also proposed hosting the UN climate conference in 2028. He had bilateral meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and also the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Prime Minister met his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, Mike Bloomberg, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and UN Special Envoy for Climate Ambition & Solutions, and interacted with King Charles.

Modi had a hectic day-long schedule as he addressed four sessions at the UN’s climate change conference and participated in the ‘Family Photo’ with other world leaders. Upon landing on Thursday night, Modi also had informal interaction with the Indian diaspora.