Lima: India today insisted on early financing of the Green Climate Fund to reach the USD 100 billion target, as Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar arrived here to participate in crucial negotiations to reach a historic deal to be signed next year in Paris.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was established with a proposed USD 100 billion budget in order to assist developing countries with climate-related projects.
India has been at the forefront of keeping the pressure on the developed countries to meet their commitment to provide climate finance.
India has made it clear that a robust global agreement in Paris next year is directly linked to the predictable availability of financing through the Green Climate Fund.
As the climate talks entered its second week, Javadekar said "the real issue" in Lima "is that [the Green] Climate Fund must become a reality".
He said finance would be a "main point of decision in Lima" because the current level of funding is only at USD 9.7 billion.
He said that India and other developing countries were hoping the GCF would be funded at a rate of USD 10 billion every year until 2020 to reach the USD 100 billion target.
Javadekar said that the concept of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) to be included in the Paris 2015 agreement "is a major achievement" because it allows each country to determine their own way forward on climate action.
In addition, the Minister said he expects "heated debates" on including more adaptation elements in the draft text as well as INDCs.
Javadekar also noted that "India will make comprehensive climate legislation" in its next budget session that "will ensure a better environment".
He said that "legislators are main force on making awareness and create pressure on the government for strong legislation and strong action plan." Javadekar was addressing a crowd of prominent business leaders and legislators at a Global Legislators Organization (GLOBE) event at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru on what to expect this coming week and the importance of climate finance.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and MP Bhubaneshwar Kalita also addressed the event.
Javadekar is the former President of GLOBE India, succeeded by Kalita.
He pointed to a study done by the organisation "on what countries are doing on climate change and their performance".
He said that he will hold bilateral meetings on Monday and Tuesday on the sidelines of the Lima talks.
He did not indicate which countries India would be meeting with.
Final week of UN climate negotiations face the daunting task of bridging wide gaps on the shape and content of the global deal.
The major stumbling block revolves around Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to next year's global agreement. Developing countries want these to extend beyond cutting emissions and to include aid to help them to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
