KATOWICE: India steps into the finance fight. Calls for more credible, accurate and verifiable numbers, and puts forward a plan to achieve that. Finance for developing countries to take measures to slow down global warming is expected to be a flash point at the ongoing talks.It just not the amount of money that rich industrialised countries are providing that is in dispute but a more basic question of accountability and what can be legitimately be described as climate finance India has consistently raised the issue of funding for developed countries. That has been more in the nature of a demand. At Katowice India, is stepping up this demand. In a discussion paper prepared by the Ministry of Finance, “3 Essential ‘Ss’ of Climate Finance - Scope, Scale and Speed: A Reflection, that was released on the sidelines of the ongoing climate talks, India has turned on the spotlight on the fundamental issues that must be addressed.Drawing attention to the call for urgent climate action in the wake of the special report on 1.5 degrees Celsius by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , the paper reiterates that climate actions by developing countries would have to be supported by climate finance flows from developed to developing countries. “The call for enhanced climate actions on the basis of scientific reports is laudable. However, the means to achieve the climate goals is not commensurate to the urgency shown, nor do we witness the seriousness required in the discourse on climate finance,” the paper states.Under the UN climate convention, rich industrialised countries are obligated to help developing countries tackle climate change by providing funds, technology, and other support. Various assessments put the requirement for finance is in the tune of trillions of dollars, however the paper notes that the commitments made by the developed countries for enhancement and support in relation to climate finance is not clearly translated into reality.A major problem that confronts the issue of finance is a proper accounting system. However, a precise and adequate system of accounting has eluded the climate process. “This lack of transparent rules leads to incomparable amounts being reported by countries applying their own discretion and judgment. How climate finance should be defined and accounted is still a matter of negotiations under the UNFCCC,” the paper’s authors state.The paper’s message is loud and clear. It underscores the need for credible, accurate and verifiable numbers on the exact size of the climate finance flows from developed to developing countries. It argues that the modalities for accounting of financial resources “cannot be at the discretion of a particular country”. Instead what is required is a robust accounting framework with concrete definitional requirementsAnother issue the paper raises is the speed and predictability of finance. The paper stresses that timely and predictable flows are essential to ensure “a global transition consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development can be effected”.Greater clarity on finance is among the issues that India along with other countries is working towards at the current round of climate talks. Pointing to the mismatch in urgency shown, the paper states,“The global community displayed an unprecedented speed in ratifying the Paris Agreement. Meeting the climate finance obligations also deserves the same momentum,” The Paris Agreement and the scientific assessments in the past year call for enhanced action, given this the paper reiterates that “international public finance flows from developed to developing countries remain the critical enabler in ramping up these actions”.