India played leadership role at COP30 : Bhupender

Terming the recently held UN COP30 climate summit a significant milestone in advancing equity and climate justice, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India has achieved all its major goals at the global negotiations and its positions are reflected in all major decisions.

Yadav, who led the Indian delegation at the COP30 summit in Brazil, said the country successfully positioned itself as a leader of the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) Group and the bloc of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC). “COP30 is a significant milestone in advancing equity and climate justice. India took all its positions boldly, particularly on issues critical to developing countries. We are satisfied with the outcomes, especially the establishment of the Article 9.1 work programme,” Yadav told in an interview on India’s achievements at the UN negotiations.

India’s concerns on climate finance, Unilateral Trade Measures (UTM), adaptation, technology and other agenda items were fully articulated and incorporated in the final decisions, he added. Negotiators from 194 countries attended the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP30 summit took place at the Brazilian city of Belem in the Amazon from November 10 to 22.

Asked if India gained anything from this COP in its endeavour to fight climate change, Yadav said, “Yes, India achieved all its major goals. India’s positions are reflected across all decision texts. Key gains include a work programme on climate finance.” The decision on climate finance will bring focus on the mobilisation of grant-based, concessional and non-debt-creating public finance for climate actions of developing countries, he added.

The forest and climate change minister also said other gains for India have been decisions regarding the establishment of Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) to facilitate just, equitable and inclusive transitions of economies of developing countries, and flexible and voluntary indicators for Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).

Despite opposition from developed countries, the final text secured space for discussions in future sessions on the impacts of UTM, like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, on developing nations, he added.

“Developed countries’ commitment to make efforts to triple adaptation finance by 2035 over the 2025 level and the Technology Implementation Programme (TIP), established to facilitate implementation of technology needs of developing countries, are two other gains for India from COP30,” he said.

Yadav said India played a leadership role at COP30, and led the BASIC Group, acted as spokesperson for the LMDC and worked closely with the Presidency.

“Through these channels, India garnered broad support to significantly shape the final outcomes. The 29 decisions adopted by consensus strongly reflect India’s positions on key issues such as just transition, adaptation finance, trade-related climate measures, gender and technology,” he added.

Calling the UN COP30 climate summit a “clear success”, the minister said India has been a steadfast supporter of climate multilateralism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

“The Mutirao Decision (collective effort in conservation of the indigenous Tupi language of Brazil), whose adoption was actively negotiated by India, reaffirms that multilateralism is working and remains central to global climate action.

“India led the LMDC group and successfully called for a new agenda on Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, resulting in a dedicated work programme on the legally binding finance obligations of developed countries,” he added. Yadav further said that India also ensured that concerns on UTMs were advanced and that its priorities on adaptation and just transition were fully captured in the final decision texts.

“The COP30 has secured space for discussions on UTMs, established JTMs and the TIP. On research and systematic observations, India ensured balanced language and prevented undue alarmism. Our bridging efforts were acknowledged by many parties,” he asserted. When asked about India’s hopes before attending the negotiations and whether these have been fulfilled, Yadav said, “At COP30, India’s core expectations were clear — uphold inclusivity, protect the interests of developing nations and reinforce trust in climate multilateralism.” The Indian delegation approached the negotiations with these aspects in mind and all of the country’s expectations have been strongly reflected in the decisions, he stressed.

“On the GGA, India sought flexibility, voluntary nature of indicators, nationally determined interpretation of indicators and no additional reporting burden along with continued technical refinement,” the minister said.

On climate finance, India consistently underlined that meaningful climate action in developing countries depends on the full delivery of Article 9.1, which obligates developed nations to provide climate finance to developing countries under a new two-year programme.

Yadav said that India co-moderated with Australia on technology to ensure that the elaboration of the TIP recognises the central role of technology development and transfer, endogenous innovation, and support for urgent adaptation and mitigation needs.

“On just transition, India pushed for an institutional arrangement that can identify the needs of developing nations,” he added.