As COP29 wound up in the early hours of Sunday, India’s fierce objection to the climate finance deal that was the summit’s main outcome showed its resolve to act as a voice for the Global South in wanting more international support to step up climate action, diplomats and policy analysts said. 

In a statement described as “bold” and “historic”, India rejected the rushed approval of the new finance goal for 2026-2035, arguing that due process had not been followed, and sought “much higher ambition” from rich nations. 

“The Global South is being pushed to transit to no-carbon pathways even at the cost of our growth… other measures are being imposed by developed country parties to make this transition really not easy,” Chandni Raina, an advisor with India’s Department of Economic Affairs, said in an impassioned speech. “This amount is a paltry sum and not something that will enable conducive climate action,” she said of the hard-fought deal on climate finance after it was gavelled through.

Rich nations on Saturday agreed to channel at least $300 billion a year by 2035 for developing countries to ramp up climate action, after bad-tempered talks in which the most vulnerable pushed for a bigger slice of the pie. 

Fractious COP29 lands $300bn climate finance goal, dashing hopes of the poorest

The new goal replaces the existing annual target of $100 billion, which was met two years late in 2022 and is widely seen as insufficient to meet rocketing needs among poorer nations for transitioning to clean energy and adapting to extreme weather and rising seas.  

In Baku, poorer countries had pushed for that amount to be raised to at least $1 trillion, with most of the money provided as grants.  

The far lower final offer of $300 billion, whose provision will be led by rich governments, is part of a wider effort agreed at COP29 to scale up finance to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 “from all public and private sources”. 

“We are disappointed in the outcome which clearly brings out the unwillingness of the developed country parties to fulfill their responsibilities. We cannot accept it,” Raina told the final plenary, drawing loud cheers. Delegates from Cuba, Nigeria, Malawi and Bolivia also outlined their disappointment and frustration after the decision had been approved. 

Champion for the Global South

“It is important when India speaks up. It reflects our views – those of the least developed countries (LDCs),” said Hana Hamadalla of Sudan, who was part of a delegation of least-developed countries that on Saturday walked out of consultations in protest at an earlier version of the deal.  

She told Climate Home she found Raina’s emphasis on the $300bn figure not being enough for poor nations to fight climate change “to the point” and reflective of Sudan’s views. 

“India has been and wants to continue to be a champion for other Global South developing countries,” said Sandeep Pai, director for research and strategy at Swaniti Global, a social enterprise that works on climate action and policy. 

In Baku, wealthy nations first put on the table an annual sum of $250 billion by 2035, which was rejected by climate campaigners and poor countries. They then increased their offer to $300 billion by that date. A high-level group of economists has recommended that level should be reached five years earlier and then raised to $390 billion a year by 2035. 

As climate-vulnerable countries, we know what kind of finance we need

India, for its part, had called on rich nations to pledge $600 billion a year in grants. The final deal in Baku – half of that – did not specify how much of the core public finance goal should come as grants and cheap loans.  

Pai described the COP29 finance deal as “grim”. “At this point everyone knows money is not coming unless it is for something that would make sense commercially,” he told Climate Home. 

With Donald Trump’s election as US president, the money will likely also be less than promised, Pai added, especially if the country withdraws from the Paris climate agreement as Trump has threatened to do.  

That could leave a finance hole that European nations, Japan and other wealthy governments may be unwilling to fill, boosting pressure on richer, big-emitting developing countries to dig deeper.  

Voluntary contributions

Industrialised countries before and during COP pushed hard to expand the donor base for climate finance to include richer developing countries such as China and oil-rich Gulf states, a proposal fiercely rejected by India, the world’s most populous nation.

“Indian negotiators are articulating a long-held stand, so they (wealthy nations) don’t start counting India as a developed nation, expected to pay,” said Pai. 

Analysts said there had been no formal ask for India to join the contributor base for the new goal. But New Delhi has pushed back strongly against changes that could shift the parameters of the global climate agreements governing the negotiations, particularly those that could blur the line on who shoulders the greatest responsibility to act on climate change.  

The final deal only “encourages” developing countries to make contributions to the new finance goal “on a voluntary basis”. 

But on Sunday, within hours of COP29 finally reaching a deal, Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s special envoy for climate, posted a statement on X saying: “We stand to give more, if those who have grown significantly since 1992 – in wealth and emissions – are ready to step up as well. The target we have put forward demonstrates our seriousness.” 

While China, the United States, India and the EU currently make up the world’s largest emitters, India ranks lowest in terms of per-capita emissions, according to World Research Institute analysis. The United States and Russia have the highest per-capita emissions. 

India’s Raina told the final CO29 plenary that developing countries are now being seen as contributors to finance climate action, and India was opposed to it. 

Less finance, weaker NDCs

In the negotiating rooms in Baku, India led the conversation on the NCQG from the Global South, and its opposition to the agreed goal could signal that developing countries may submit weak national climate plans (NDCs) next year, analysts warned. 

Sanjay Vashist, director of Climate Action Network South Asia, said developing countries such as India may not slow down their efforts to adapt to climate shifts, but their actions and ambitions will not be reflected in the NDC they submit. 

“We are answerable to domestic monitoring systems not international. Now you are not under obligation,” he said, referring to the shortfall in finance.  

India’s strongly worded objection at COP29 was also regarded as significant because it sends a strong signal “that a deal cannot be done” without countries being heard, said Srestha Banerjee, director of just transition at the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST), a research and policy think-tank.  

The critical voices, not just of India but also other countries including Colombia’s environment minister, “should be a wake-up call for rethinking the UNFCCC [process] and how it can truly deliver cooperative action”, Banerjee said. 

(Reporting by Roli Srivastava; editing by Megan Rowling)

This article was produced as part of the COP29 Cross-Border Energy Transition Reporting Fellowship, a programme organised by Clean Energy Wire and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.