Green Credits, Climate Financing… PM Modi's priorities at COP28 in Dubai

‘Modi, Modi, Modi’ and ‘Ab ki Baar, 400 Paar’ chants resonated loud and clear in Dubai as Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the city to attend the World Climate Action Summit during the United Nations ‘Conference of the Parties’ on climate, known as COP28 . PM Modi’s visit to Dubai, which will be 21-hours-long, comes at the invitation of President of UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In fact, even before he departed for his visit, where he will address the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit, the PM said that he was happy to see that this significant event is being held under the Presidency of the UAE, an important partner for India in the field of climate action. After arriving in Dubai, Modi further wrote on social media platform X: “Landed in Dubai to take part in the COP-28 Summit. Looking forward to the proceedings of the Summit, which are aimed at creating a better planet.”

Landed in Dubai to take part in the COP-28 Summit. Looking forward to the proceedings of the Summit, which are aimed at creating a better planet. pic.twitter.com/jnHVDwtSeZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 30, 2023

The World Climate Action Summit will be attended by several world leaders – such as Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, UK’s Rishi Sunak, King Charles II. The leaders will discuss ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively combat climate change. As we await his address at the World Climate Action Summit, let’s take a closer look at what’s his agenda in Dubai. PM Modi’s agenda at COP28 The PM has a packed schedule in Dubai. He is not only addressing the World Climate Action Summit, but will also be participating in three high-level side events, of which two are being co-hosted by India. It is expected that PM Modi will make a stronger pitch for the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), which was launched in September at the G20 Summit in New Delhi. While it has attracted the participation of 22 countries, the alliance is yet to secure backing from OPEC+ countries, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Russia. The world is waking up to the potential of biofuels and India’s efforts to champion the GBA will give further impetus to this movement.

In all probability, PM Modi will also push for climate finance at the summit. Earlier, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman had said that India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds, and the need for more money. PM Modi will also launch the Green Credit Initiative with the UAE at the COP28. This initiative is based on the Green Credit Program, which was notified by the Ministry of Environment in October. It is a market-based mechanism to incentivise voluntary environmental actions by various stakeholders such as individuals, communities, private-sector industries, and companies. The aim of this initiative is to motivate stakeholders across the board to play a role in environmental conservation and adopt sustainable practices. But how will this work? Individuals or companies must enlist their eco-friendly endeavours on a government website. These activities will be scrutinised by an agency and based on their results, the firm will receive a Green Credit certificate, and Green Credits, which could then be exchanged in the market. Additionally, PM Modi will also launch another initiative called LeadIT 2.0 at an event co-hosted by India and Sweden. It is essentially a leadership group for energy transition. This was a joint initiative launched by India and Sweden in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. This initiative fosters collaboration among the decision-makers bringing together both the public sector and the private sector with the objective of accelerating the industry transition to net zero emissions. Also read: COP28: Why India's role is pivotal in climate justice and finance The prime minister will also be participating in another high-level event which is titled ‘Transforming Climate Finance’. This will be hosted by the presidency of COP28, the UAE. Besides the climate-related events, Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders participating in the summit, including Israeli president Isaac Herzog, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the newly-elected Maldivian president Mohamed Muizzu. [caption id=“attachment_13451982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] India has reiterated that it is not in a position to abandon its reliance on coal for electricity generation anytime soon, despite criticism for not phasing out these plants fast enough. File image/AP[/caption] Protecting India’s interests at COP However, it will be interesting to see how PM Modi is able to balance the country’s climate commitments vis-à-vis its own growth models. New Delhi has in the recent past come under pressure to make a commitment on reducing its coal consumption, but officials have asserted that India’s per capita emission is far below the world average and will remain so. “Coal is and would remain an important part of India’s energy mix, it has always been, as we move forward to meet our developmental priorities in the country,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, responding to the question of how India would tackle proposals from the US and France to halt private financing in coal-fired power projects. PM Modi will also remain firm on India’s stand when it comes to methane production. Despite rich nations asking for a reduction, India has remained firm on the matter to protect the farmers and livestock. [caption id=“attachment_13452012” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People walk near a logo for the COP28 UN Climate Summit, Wednesday, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP[/caption] India and climate commitments India has embraced climate as an issue it can lead on. In fact, in 2021, at the UN Climate Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made one of the most ambitious pledges to date of any major emitter, vowing to make India net zero by 2070 . This was one of five commitments from the country, including a vow for the nation to get 50 per cent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030 and also reduce total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes in the same time period. India has also given the world Mission LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment, which got traction from word leaders at the G20 Summit in New Delhi. Mission LiFE aims to adopt a three-pronged strategy for changing people’s approach towards sustainability and the effects of climate change. This includes encouraging citizens to introduce simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their lifestyle (demand), nudging industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply), and to influence government’s policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy). COP28 is being held at a very crucial time; the world for the first time witnessed a two degrees rise in temperature from the pre-industrial level (1850-1900). With inputs from agencies