By Abbas Nazil
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav will represent India at the pre-COP30 meetings in Brasília from October 13 to 14, followed by the G20 Environment Ministers’ meeting in Cape Town from October 16 to 17, where he is expected to outline India’s evolving climate strategy.
The pre-COP30 gathering, though not an official United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) event, serves as a preparatory forum for the main COP30 Climate Conference scheduled to take place in Belém, Pará, Brazil, from November 10 to 21.
Around 65 national delegations and more than 600 participants, including climate negotiators, observers, and senior officials, will attend the event at the Brasil International Convention Center.
The discussions aim to build consensus on critical issues such as adaptation, renewable energy, forest conservation, and the global stocktake process.
High-level attendees will include Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, Environment Minister Marina Silva, and COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago.
COP30 comes amid geopolitical tensions, with the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the European Union’s delay in submitting updated climate commitments.
India, meanwhile, is finalizing its first national adaptation plan and an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) for 2035, which are expected to receive cabinet approval soon.
The country has already achieved one major NDC goal—installing 50% of its power capacity from non-fossil sources—five years ahead of schedule.
According to its updated 2022 NDC, India aims to reduce emissions intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, and create a carbon sink of up to 3 billion tonnes through increased forest cover.
As of June 2025, renewable energy accounts for 48.27% of India’s total installed capacity of 484.8 GW.
Officials are now evaluating the possibility of increasing the share of non-fossil sources further as part of India’s long-term low-emission development strategy.
India is also expected to push for stronger commitments on climate finance at both pre-COP30 and COP30, especially after developing nations criticized the COP29 outcome in Baku for setting an inadequate $300 billion annual funding goal.
India and the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) bloc plan to raise concerns over Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates developed nations to provide financial assistance for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.
Minister Yadav emphasized that India’s climate goals align with its ambition to become a developed nation by 2047, highlighting the need to balance growth and emissions reduction while securing adequate global climate finance.
