India has urged that the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, prioritize concrete action to address the severe financing gap faced by developing nations in adapting to and mitigating climate change.
Speaking at the Global Stocktake (GST)breakout session during the pre-COP30 consultations in Brasília, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav emphasized that the phase of “endless review and dialogue” must give way to decisive implementation. He reiterated that global climate ambition must now be matched by equitable resource mobilisation, stating that the “critical shortfall of climate finance” remains the foremost barrier preventing developing economies from achieving adaptation and emission reduction goals.
The GST is a periodic review under the Paris Agreement 2015 that assesses the world’s collective progress toward limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Held every five years, it examines countries’ actions on mitigation, adaptation and finance and guides them to strengthen their future climate commitments. This year marks 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement.
The first GST was completed at COP28 in Dubai.
Yadav said GST is designed to strengthen ambition. For future GSTs, he proposed that there should be no rushing for the inclusion of scientific assessments without proper discussion on their global relevance. Science, he said, must follow rigor, accuracy and robustness, with due consideration from all relevant sources.
Yadav met UN climate chief Simon Stiell, COP30 President-Designate André Corrêa do Lago and EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra on the sidelines of the pre-COP meetings.
Yadav said his discussion with Stiell focused on “strengthening multilateral cooperation to enhance global climate action”.
“Appreciate his acknowledgment of India’s leadership and remarkable progress in renewable energy,” Yadav posted on X.
He said his meeting with Corrêa do Lago focused on strengthening climate cooperation, energy security and adaptation measures to deliver tangible outcomes on the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Yadav reaffirmed India’s full support for making COP30 successful through collective and inclusive climate action.
In the meeting with Hoekstra, the two leaders discussed ways to advance the India EU climate partnership and enhance energy security. They also underlined the importance of climate finance, technology transfer and cooperative solutions for sustainable growth, Yadav said. The two-day pre-COP brings together environment and climate ministers, senior negotiators and observers to narrow differences on politically sensitive topics and build ministerial consensus ahead of the UN climate conference in Belém.
Pre-COPs are not formal UNFCCC events but have become routine host-country platforms to focus ministerial attention on a short list of political questions that negotiators otherwise take weeks to resolve.
COP30 is taking place against a complex geopolitical backdrop, with several developed countries reassessing their climate strategies amid economic and energy security pressures.
In the run-up to the annual climate meeting, disagreements over climate finance, the pace and responsibility for the energy transition, and the burden on developing countries remain sharp.
