Multilateralism must be main focus of COP30: Bhupendra Yadav

India has said it shared Brazil's goals on making multilateralism and implementation of climate commitments the central focus of the upcoming UN climate talks in Belem (COP30).

Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav, who was in Brasilia participating in the two-day informal ministerial, commonly known as pre-COP, said: "Let COP30 in Belem reaffirm faith in multilateralism, equity, and collective resolve to deliver real, measurable action for people and the planet."

The pre-COP is the last opportunity before the official UN-sponsored negotiations for ministers to meet in an informal setting to address issues and resolve differences, offering political guidance for the negotiations at the COP. The 2025 round of climate talks marks ten years of the Paris Agreement, the beginning of the second cycle of the agreement with countries submitting their nationally determined climate targets for 2035.


The talks will take place in the context of heightened geopolitical tensions and fragmentations, the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, tariff uncertainties and economic headwinds. The economic and political situation could likely see commitments to climate action that are less than required as well as lower levels of financial support by developed countries for the developing ones.

"As we mark a decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, COP30 must send a resolute political message that multilateralism remains the cornerstone of global climate action," said Yadav.

In this context, host Brazil is focusing on demonstrating that multilateralism delivers on climate through enhanced focus on implementation of climate commitments. India is, in keeping with its position, stressing on the need to deliver rather than simply making commitments. "The focus must be on transforming climate commitments into real-world actions that accelerate implementation and directly improve people's lives," said Yadav.

Laying out its expectations from the upcoming UN meeting, India has called for clear outcomes on adaptation. With climate change-induced extreme weather events and other impacts becoming more evident, adapting and building resilience to climate impacts have become crucial. "COP30 should be the COP of adaptation. All countries must agree on a minimum package of indicators from the UAE-Belem Work Programme," said the minister.

He stressed on the need to strengthen and intensify the flow of public finance towards adaptation, that may perhaps also promote the flow of finance from other sources as well.

India made it clear that it was not in support of efforts to put in place new mechanisms to implement the conclusions and decisions of the first global stock take that concluded in 2023.

"With the Paris Agreement mechanism fully operational, now is not the time to undermine its architecture by insisting on post-GST (Global Stock Take) processes that seek to prescribe new mechanisms. Let us be informed by the first GST and do our utmost as per our national circumstances," the minister said.