India's Position for UNFCCC COP31 Climate Negotiations
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav articulated India's official stance at the Pre-COP31 meeting in Fiji, calling for greater flexibility, pragmatism and mutual respect among Parties to secure ambitious and balanced outcomes at the upcoming UNFCCC COP31 conference. The minister emphasized that intensifying climate impacts demand moving beyond rhetoric toward implementation and convergence, while respecting nationally determined pathways for climate action.
Shri Yadav highlighted broad convergence among Parties on three key areas: remaining collectively anchored to the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C; recognizing that higher ambition requires proportionally higher commitments through scaled-up climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building; and shifting the collective focus decisively toward implementation. India firmly believes that implementation must respect nationally determined pathways, allowing each country to transition according to its unique national circumstances and development imperatives.
The Minister stressed the urgent need for innovative solutions and continued reforms to accelerate climate action, noting that while global goals are shared, greater convergence is needed on approaches to achieving them. He called for optimization of tools already available under the Convention and the Paris Agreement, specifically highlighting the inclusion of Article 9.1 on the provisional agenda as a vital formal opportunity to address the matching of finance to country needs. He also emphasized the strategic use of Article 6 cooperative approaches to plug critical gaps in finance and other means of implementation while unlocking market-driven resources for sustainable development.
India expects COP31 to chart a definitive way forward to enhance engagement, technical cooperation and targeted support for building capabilities. The country stands ready for open and transparent dialogue to resolve these issues in the run-up to COP31 to ensure a balanced, equitable outcome for the global community, particularly the most vulnerable. Climate multilateralism can be strengthened through an inclusive, consultative and consensus-based approach.
The Pre-COP meeting was held in Nadi, Fiji in preparation for the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) scheduled for November in Antalya, Türkiye. Shri Yadav concluded by thanking Mr. Chris Bowen, President of Negotiations, for ensuring open and engaging discussions during Pre-COP31.