India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has accused wealthy nations of failing to deliver on their climate finance commitments and slammed the European Union’s carbon border tariff, arguing that countries responsible for the bulk of historical emissions must do far more to help developing economies fight climate change.
Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue, Goyal said developed countries had yet to provide adequate financial support or access to clean technology to developing nations, even as those countries face mounting pressure to cut emissions while meeting the basic needs of their populations.
“Who’s responsible for this mess in the first place? Where did the ozone layer get damaged? Who sent all that carbon into the atmosphere?” Goyal asked, pointing to the environmental toll of decades of industrialisation in advanced economies.
The minister sharply criticised developed countries for falling short of their commitment to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance to developing nations — a pledge first made in 2009 and reiterated at subsequent climate negotiations, including the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.
“Eleven years later, we haven’t seen a nickel or a dime of that. It’s all promises,” Goyal said, accusing rich nations of failing to deliver the financial assistance and technology-sharing support needed to help developing economies transition to cleaner energy.
He argued that developing countries were being asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of the costs of addressing climate change while also working to reduce poverty, improve living standards and meet growing energy demand.
Goyal also took aim at unilateral trade measures such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a carbon-related cost on certain imports into the bloc, ostensibly to address emissions linked to carbon-intensive goods. He described such measures as protectionist, saying carbon-related trade restrictions do little to address the financial and technological challenges facing developing countries as they move towards cleaner energy.
The minister also highlighted the imbalance between India’s contribution to historical emissions and the pressure it faces to respond to the climate crisis. India, he said, accounts for roughly 17 per cent of the world’s population but contributes less than 3 per cent of historical cumulative carbon emissions. European countries, by contrast, make up only a small share of the global population while their per-capita carbon emissions remain several times higher than India’s.
Goyal said India had to balance climate action with the need to provide energy, food and security for its large population. “I have to meet their energy needs, their food needs, and ensure that my nation remains secure,” he said. “Despite all of that, we have one of the world’s fastest-growing clean energy programmes.”
He called on developed nations to back their climate promises with real money, investments and access to clean technology, and warned that carbon-related trade measures could raise costs for exporters in developing countries. Climate action, he said, must be fair, ensuring emerging economies receive the support they need to shift to cleaner energy without widening the gap between rich and poor nations.
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/west-pollutes-global-south-pays-piyush-goyal-slams-rich-nations-over-climate-funding-watch-14054734.html
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Publish Date: 2026-10-23 08:01:00
