COP30 should be the COP of adaptation, says Bhupender Yadav

NEw new delhi: COP30 should be the COP of adaption, unification surround government minister Bhupender Yadav has said at the Pre COP30 meeting in Brasilia on Monday.“We should all agree on a minimum package of indicators from the UAE-Belem Work Programme, leaving some of the rest for further technical discussion as necessary. 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,” Yadav said in his intervention.“To ensure tangible outcomes in Belém, our focus must be on transforming climate commitments into real-world actions that accelerate implementation and directly improve people’s lives. The key lies in translating global policy commitments into practical, locally grounded solutions,” he added.Further, he called for restoration of faith in multilateralism. “Let COP30 in Belém reaffirm faith in multilateralism, equity, and collective resolve to deliver real, measurable action for people and the planet,” he said. “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. We are in full agreement with the Presidency’s view that the Paris rulebook is fully operational with NDCs, National Adaptation Plans or NAPs and Biennial Transparency Reports or BTRs, all being implemented today.”“With the Paris Agreement mechanism fully operational, now is not the time to undermine its architecture by insisting on post-global stocktake processes that seek to prescribe new mechanisms. Let us be informed by the first GST and do our utmost as per our national circumstances,” he said.“We have a number of mandates, as part of our negotiations, to fulfil at COP30. India is fully with you, excellency, in the successful conclusion of all these agenda items,” Yadav said, adding: “India seeks to be part of the solution, not the problem. Our initiatives from the International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to the International Big Cat Alliance embodies this spirit of cooperative and action-oriented multilateralism.”HT reported on October 8 that India has finalised its first national adaptation plan, which is likely to be unveiled ahead of or at the UN Climate Meeting (COP30) at Belem, Brazil. The national adaptation plan and an update to India’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) for the 2035 period are currently under review and expected to be taken up for Cabinet approval very soon, those aware of the matter said.The NAP will be a flagship document, according to officials, which will cover all sectors and include projections for finance needed to implement the plan.In an interview on the occasion of World Environment Day, Yadav had told HT: The NAP is “a strategic initiative to enhance the country’s resilience to climate change impacts. The NAP represents a major step forward in aligning adaptation planning with India’s national development priorities and global climate commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. The core objective of the NAP is to protect lives, ecosystems, and livelihoods by supporting: 1. Understanding of current and future climate risks and vulnerabilities 2. Identifying medium- and long-term priorities for climate adaptation 3. Establishing systems, policies, measures and capacities to ensure strengthened adaptation planning, budgeting and implementation.”Yadav is in Brasilia for the pre-COP30 meetings on October 13 and 14. He is expected to then attend the G20 environment ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa on October 16 and 17.Both meetings are key as India is expected to lay down its climate strategy at these meetings.Although it is not part of the official UNFCCC event calendar, the Pre-COP is part of a series of meetings held throughout the year in preparation for the Climate Conference. The ministerial-level gathering will bring together climate negotiators and seek to facilitate consensus on key issues for COP30, which will be held in Belém, Pará, from November 10 to 21, according to COP30 Presidency.The opening of the meeting is expected to be attended by the President, Lula da Silva; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira; the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva; the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara; and the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad. In addition to these and other authorities, the President of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago; the Executive Director of COP30, Ana Toni; and the Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment, Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, will also be present.COP30 is about to take place in the midst of geo-political disruption as US, the largest historical greenhouse gas emitter, has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. The European Union, which otherwise takes a lead role in climate negotiations, is yet to submit its nationally determined contribution (NDCs). Further, tariff impositions have deepened the rifts between countries. For example, the US has announced an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting November 1, 2025, raising the overall tariffs to 130%.The move came in response to Beijing’s October 9, 2025 decision to impose controls on rare earth exports, which are vital for US defense, electric vehicles, and clean-energy industries. China updated its NDC in September. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China, world’s largest polluter in terms of CO2 emissions, will cut economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10% from peak levels and increase non-fossil fuel energy consumption to over 30% of the total energy consumption by 2025. Though China’s ndc is underwhelming according to experts, it is expected to take a lead role and fill the vacuum that the US has left, observers have said.India’s NDC and national adaptation plan is expected in the run up to COP30. The COP30 Presidency has said it is disappointed over the delay in announcing NDCs for 2035 period by India and EU.