Stating that there is far less support for climate policies–including tax on fossil fuels–in rich nations, chief economic adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that developed countries should convince their public about the urgency of adopting policies to mitigate the risks of climate change.

Speaking at an event here, Nageswaran said when developed countries advise their developing counterparts what the latter should be doing on climate change, they have an even more important task. “That is to convince their own public of the importance of climate change mitigation policies,” he said.

The overall support for green policy is the lowest in Denmark, France and Germany followed by Australia, the CEA said, citing a report. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the UK and the US are among the developed countries that are opposed to carbon taxes.

“Therefore, when we look for funding support from developed countries, it is unrealistic because they have far bigger challenges to face at home,” he said.

The CEA stressed the need to mobilise finance through public, private and multilateral sources for proactive measures relating to climate but added that “we should not jeopardise fiscal health of both developed and developing countries”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last year India has promised to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 – missing a key goal of the COP26 summit for countries to commit to reach that target by 2050.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed that India will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070, the first time the country has set such a target, at the Glasgow summit.