Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday outlined India’s priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20.
He said India will approach the conference with a solution-oriented vision, bringing forth practical solutions for the Global South, with capacity building, knowledge sharing and geography-specific solutions at the core of discussions.
Briefing the media, Yadav said predictable climate finance will be a key priority, alongside party-driven mitigation, technology transfer and discussions on the just transition. At COP31, Yadav said India is seeking a decision to commence the Climate Finance Work Programme – under which developed countries have to meet obligations to provide financial resources to developing nations for mitigation and adaptation.
“Climate finance is an obligation of developed countries under Article 9.1 and must be predictable, largely public and concessional and should not add to the debt burden. The minister is expected to travel to Antalya on November 15. “There are IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports from time to time, and interventions also come in. We say that science is informing us and telling us more and more about these challenges. Technology is assisting us, but access to it should be available to everyone in the world.
The minister said climate adaptation too remains a priority for India, stating the agenda should remain separate from negotiations and that uniform global targets must respect national circumstances. Nobody in the world can deny the challenges posed by climate change,” he said, stating India’s position on technology transfer was also clear – that it is an obligation of developed countries and must be shared with developing nations. “At COP31, we want to make positive contributions to global efforts with the goal of achieving the objectives of climate convention and the Paris Agreement,” he said, adding the country will also highlight the linkage between the need for adaptation in agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers.
India will also press for mitigation and the Global Stocktake to remain party-driven, facilitative and non-punitive, respecting the nationally determined nature of NDCs [nationally determined contributions] and ruling out new top-down targets,” Yadav said on Tuesday.
