Sitharaman Emphasizes Climate Change Mitigation & low-cost Technologies

By: WE Staff | Friday, 22 April 2022

At the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plenary, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated India's appeal for low-cost technologies and increased support to developing nations to battle climate change, as well as reaffirming India's commitment to tackling money laundering and terrorism funding.

According to a tweet from the ministry of finance on Thursday, Sitharaman emphasised the  "importance of the multilateral approach to combat climate change and transfer of climate finance and low-cost technologies from developed to developing countries".

India has long argued that developing countries urgently require climate finance and the transfer of low-cost technology to enable them to contribute to the fight against global warming, and that developed countries must take greater responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and do more to combat global warming.

The finance minister, who is attending the World Bank Group's Spring Meetings, which includes the IMF, has also campaigned for greater equity among the multinational organization's 187 members. Because of their historically outsized status and a system of quotas that dictate member nations' relationships with the organisation, including the value of their voting power, some member countries have a greater influence in its functioning and decision-making.

According to the finance ministry, Sitharaman stressed the body on the "need for early completion of the 16th General Review of Quotas to address the under-representation of Emerging and Developing Market economies."

At the plenary, the minister also stated that, with an IMF-projected growth rate of 8.2% for 2022-23, India is the fastest-growing developing economy. According to the finance ministry, she remarked, "India has continued to pursue major structural reforms targeted at improving productivity and employment." The revised rate is 0.8 percentage points lower than the fund's previous forecast for the same period, which was 9%.

Separately, at a meeting of the finance ministers of the 37 member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog on money laundering and terror funding, the minister reaffirmed India's "political commitment to fighting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing. Also appreciated the work of FATF on Beneficial Ownership Transparency, the role of FATF global network in safeguarding (the) global financial system".

Sitharaman also extended India's support for FATF's "strategic priorities and reiterated India's commitment to provide necessary resources & support to FATF in its endeavor as a global alliance against money laundering, terrorist financing & financing of proliferation of WMDs".

The ministers "agreed to take immediate and urgent action to strengthen the effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing," according to a second statement from the FATF. This includes putting in place the FATF's worldwide beneficial ownership regulations, which were reinforced earlier this year, as soon as possible to prevent criminals from disguising their unlawful operations and filthy money behind anonymous shell firms and other business structures.

On the sidelines of the Spring Discussions, the minister held bilateral meetings with counterparts from around the world and business leaders. She met with Raj Subramanian, FedEx's president and incoming CEO. "He is positive on India and has big expansion plans, including in skilling," Subramanian told the minister, according to a tweet from the finance ministry.