BASIC countries call for more flow of finance

Katowice (Poland) : The Paris rulebook, a set of rules that are being evolved to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement for action against climate change, should take into account aspects of equity and differentiation between the developed and developing countries.

This was the call of negotiators on Wednesday from the four BASIC countries -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China.

BASIC countries are willing to exercise the necessary flexibility but there should not be any backsliding from the Paris Agreement, Indian negotiator Arun Kumar Mehta told reporters here.

All the four delegates stressed on the importance of developed countries providing finance to developing countries.

Derek Hanekom, Head of South African delegation, was more vociferous on it.

"The amounts allocated are hopelessly inadequate," he said.

BASIC delegates spoke of the need not backslide on the Paris Agreement and expressed fear that developed countries might go back on the agreement by interpreting it differently.

(Vishal Gulati is in Katowice at the invitation of Climate Trends to cover the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP24. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)