A session dedicated to climate finance was held for the first time in the eight ministerial meetings of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her US counterpart, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meet for the eight ministerial meeting of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership on Thursday, October 14, 2021. Also in attendance, were Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das (virtually present). According to a joint statement, for the first time a session dedicated to climate finance was held in the ministerial meeting.
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to raise united nations climate change Conference (“COP26”) in Glasgow at the end of the month, India is emphasizing on rich countries To meet the Paris Agreement climate finance commitment of $100 billion per year.
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The two sides “reaffirmed the collective developed country goal of raising $100 billion annually for developing countries from public and private sources, in terms of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation,” the statement said. Is. Holding such a session, the statement said, reflects the “critical” role that climate finance has to play in achieving global climate target and commitments of both sides to make “immediate progress” in combating climate change.
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“We look forward to addressing climate change between our two ministries as well as through the Finance Mobilization pillar of the recently launched Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD) under the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership. Looking forward to joining.” It said, referring to the partnership launched after a visit in April this year US climate envoy to India John Kerry.
At Thursday’s meeting, the sides also shared views on global efforts to enhance climate ambition and each country’s efforts to meet the stated goals. India has been under pressure from Paris – including the US and UK – to meet its commitments, including providing a deadline to reach ‘net zero’ emissions. India has not yet announced climate action commitments (beyond its Paris-related targets), arguing that developing countries need space for growth and that Rich countries need to move towards ‘net minus’ commitments In addition to delivering on its climate finance promises.
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according to subjects From the week’s discussions at the World Bank IMF’s annual meetings so far, topics of discussion have included economic recovery from the pandemic, money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), bilateral debt and credit stability, as well as international economic recovery. to tax.
India and the US also reiterated their support for “debt stability and transparency in bilateral debt”, possibly a reference to China’s lending practices under its Belt and Road Initiative that have led to a volatile debt situation for borrowing countries.
On international taxation, both sides welcomed the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group of wealthy countries) tax agreement and committed to work with others to implement the two pillars of the agreement by 2023. Column one includes the allocation of tax rights (taxes on multinational companies) between jurisdictions and column two, a global minimum tax of 15% on certain companies.
The parties also noted US FATCA law, under which other countries provide the US with information about the financial assets of Americans. “The two sides should continue to discuss a full reciprocal arrangement on FATCA,” the joint statement said on combating offshore tax evasion.
On AML/CFT, the two sides agreed “on the importance of fighting financial crimes and the effective implementation of Financial Action Task Force standards to protect our financial systems from abuse”.
The statement also mentioned the Group of 20 (G20), of which India will be the President in 2023.
“As India prepares for its 2023 G20 Presidency, the United States stands ready to support India in hosting a successful and productive year,” it said.
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