India proposes a dedicated multilateral fund for global treaty on plastic pollution | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Taking cue from the Montreal Protocol that deals with the Ozone-depleting substances, India has proposed to set up a dedicated multilateral fund for a proposed international legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, which is currently being finalised by a special panel in Busan, South Korea.
The proposal seeks to provide a workable model for providing funding for transitioning to environment friendly technologies by developing countries. The same model is being used under the Montreal Protocol to support developing countries for phasing out their Ozone-depleting refrigerants.
“The Indian proposal on financial mechanism for the new instrument mandates provision of financial and technical assistance, including the transfer of technologies, to developing country parties to enable their compliance with control measures agreed in the instrument,” said a statement from the environment ministry, released here on Wednesday.
It said, “Most importantly, the proposed new dedicated multilateral fund will provide grant-based finance to developing countries, and the developed countries will be mandated to replenish the fund on a periodic basis and also provide flexibility of accepting private funds based upon agreed modalities.” The ministry claimed that India has been engaging constructively in the negotiations.
The ongoing meeting in Busan is the fifth one of the panel – Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) -to develop an International legally binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution, and set into motion a process to have a global agreement.
The meeting is being held under a historic resolution by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2022 to address plastic pollution at the global level. It had then decided to conclude the negotiations of the INC by 2024. The negotiations are expected to conclude on December 1.
“The Indian proposal also provides for the setting up of a subsidiary body, with equal representation of developed countries and developing countries, to make operational policies, guidelines and administrative arrangements, including the disbursement of resources, for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the multilateral fund,” said the ministry.
It said, “Such an arrangement brings in joint ownership. The list of incremental costs covered by the new dedicated multilateral fund will be decided by the governing body of the instrument. The proposed subsidiary body will also look into issues of technology transfer to developing countries.”