India has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on climate change with Governments of Italy, Canada, Denmark, Norway and China regarding cooperation on climate change including clean development mechanism projects. No MoUs on climate change have been signed so far with United States of America, Sweden and European Union.
While the MoUs signed with Italy, Canada, Denmark and Norway are intended to stimulate development and bilateral cooperation in the field of clean development mechanism (CDM), the Agreement signed with China focuses on promotion of mutual understanding and coordination of each others position on climate change related issues including international negotiations and bilateral cooperation in areas relating to energy efficiency, renewable, power, clean coal and other sectors of mutual interest.
The MoUs will help build confidence between India and partner countries and promote development and implementation of CDM projects as well as coordination, mutual understanding and joint strategies on climate change related issues.
In a recent communication to the European Union Council on International Climate Finance, the European Commission has proposed assigning of about Euros 100 billion annually by 2020 to be shared between domestic finance, carbon market based financing and international public support. This estimate presupposes mitigation actions by developing countries especially that are economically more advanced. The Commission has also proposed a fast start fund of about Euros 5-7 billion per year for meeting the urgent climate financing needs in developing countries, in particular least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). No agreement on the scale of finance and institutional arrangements needed to raise and provide finance for addressing climate change in developing countries has yet been reached in UNFCCC because of continuing difference in the approach of developed and developing countries on the matter.