Modi Likely To Skip COP30, Union Environment Minister Will Lead India Contingent: Report
The Wire Staff
Real journalism holds power accountable
Since 2015, The Wire has done just that.
But we can continue only with your support.
New Delhi: Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav will lead the India contingent at the second week of the upcoming 30th Conference of Parties (COP) that will kick off at Belém, Brazil, on November 10, according to a report by PTI.
Per the report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely skip the COP this year too.
India’s presence at COP30
The United Nations conducts a Conference of Parties (COP) related to climate change every year. These annual climate change conferences are the biggest in the world and world leaders and representatives, climate researchers, activists and other climate action groups attend them. COPs are where discussions and negotiations take place — on cutting down carbon emissions to tackle the threat of global warming caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels. Transitioning to cleaner energy sources, adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change, and money for all this especially for developing countries — these are some of the technical aspects that the COPs focus on.
Both Modi and Yadav did not attend COP29 which was held at Baku, Azerbaijan, last year. Yadav did not attend it because of the assembly elections in Maharashtra that took place at almost the same time last year. Instead, Minister of State of the environment ministry, Kirti Vardhan Singh, attended COP29 and delivered India’s national statement at the conference on November 19. In fact, India did not even have a pavilion at COP29.
This year, however, Yadav will lead the India contingent at COP30 at Belem during the second week of the conference (from November 17-21). And India’s ambassador to Brazil will represent the country at the COP30 Leaders' Summit in Belém on November 6 and 7.
The Summit, which is usually part of the COP schedule, is being held before it this time. More than 140 delegations, including 57 heads of state and 39 ministers are expected to attend the leaders' summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the PTI report said.
At the Summit, Brazil will likely launch its “Tropical Forest Forever Facility”, which aims to mobilise USD $125 billion for forest protection through results-based payments and a market-based mechanism over the next decade. The initiative seeks to compensate countries for preserving tropical forests, with 20% of funds reserved for indigenous peoples. More than 70 developing countries will be eligible to receive funds from this initiative.
India’s stands
The report quoted unnamed sources as saying that at COP30, “India is expected to underline that developed countries can restore trust by honouring their past commitments and scaling up predictable, grant-based funding for adaptation and loss and damage”.
Earlier, at the pre-COP meeting held in October at Brasília, Yadav had said that COP30 must be the “COP of Adaptation” and that the focus must be on transforming climate commitments into real-world actions.
“COP30 should be the COP of Adaptation,” the Minister had said. “We should send an inspiring message to the world with the Baku Adaptation Road Map, that we are on the way to ensuring the safety and well-being of billions leaving no one behind,” he added.
Published on November 5, the Baku To Belem Road Map aims to mobilise USD $1.3 trillion in annual climate finance by 2035. The Roadmap proposes a comprehensive and integrated “5R” framework for “scaling up climate finance to developing countries for Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) implementation and sustainable development supporting the achievement of 1.3 trillion”. The 5Rs are Replenishing (grants, concessional finance and low-cost capital), Rebalancing (fiscal space and debt sustainability), Rechannelling (transformative private finance and affordable cost of capital), Revamping (capacity and coordination for scaled climate portfolios) and Reshaping (financial systems and structures for equitable capital flows).
This article went live on November sixth, two thousand twenty five, at six minutes past three in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.