India has voiced its disapproval of “protectionist” measures that link trade barriers and carbon emissions, at the ongoing climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan. A week before the UN summit began, China had petitioned the Presidency of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP 29) to include a discussion on “climate change-related unilateral restrictive trade measures” as part of the formal conference agenda. “A regime of unilateral trade measures on climate change,” India stated on Friday, “imposes the cost of the transition to low-carbon economies on developing and low-income countries... [S]uch measures are discriminatory... and detrimental to multi-lateral cooperation. Circular evasionsNeither the BASIC proposal nor India’s statement explicitly mention the CBAM; instead, they use the phrase “arbitrary and unjustifiable unilateral measures”. But this is an extremely important matter that needs to be raised and deliberated as frequently as possible.”

Source: The Hindu November 15, 2024 16:43 UTC