COP30: What India hopes to achieve from Belem climate change meet

From erratic monsoon causing havoc for farmers in Punjab to coastal erosion in West Bengal forcing thousands to migrate to other states, the climate crisis is a reality for Indians.

That is the context in which India arrived in Bélem, Brazil, for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, attended by delegates from nearly 200 countries.

The conference started on November 10 and concludes on November 21.

As extreme weather events become more frequent around the world as a result of climate change, this annual event is the forum for participants to negotiate measures to contain the crisis and develop plans to mitigate its effects.

It is also a platform for developing countries to obtain loans and grants, known as “climate finance”, from developed countries to support efforts to adapt to climate change and transition to renewable energy sources.

However, despite facing intense climate risks, India has still not submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contributions, an important global commitment that defines national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

These figures were to have been submitted in September.

These emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. This is leading to rising sea levels, more frequent heatwaves and other extreme weather events.

These Nationally Determined Contributions were adopted after the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty adopted in 2015 to combat climate change. The agreement requires signatory countries to set emission reduction targets every five years and report on their progress.

The aim is to keep global warming well below 2 degree Celsius. Since 1880, the Earth’s average global temperature has increased by 1.1° Celsius, scientists say. Most of the warming has occurred since 1975.

The delay by India signals a lack of urgency at a time that the country is looking to raise more climate finance.

According to Niti Aayog, the government’s top think tank, the country would need at least $21 trillion over the next ten years to achieve its climate goals, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate disasters. The amount is six times the country’s current Gross Domestic Product.

At the Leaders’ Summit on November 6 and November 7 ahead of COP30 in Belem, India’s ambassador to Brazil, Dinesh Bhatia, said that “after ten years of the Paris Agreement, NDCs of many nations fall short, and while developing countries are taking decisive climate action, global ambition remains inadequate”, according to the Press Information Bureau.

The statement emphasised that developed countries must accelerate their efforts to reduce emissions and deliver adequate financial support to developing nations to institute measures to do so.

In 2024, India emitted 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a measure of planet-warming greenhouse gases, according to United Nations figures. India is behind only China and the United States. Despite this, it aims to go “net-zero” by 2070 – to balance the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere with the amount removed from it.

At COP30, India is expected to advocate for an increase in climate finance. India will argue that developing economies are dependent on fossil fuels, the main culprit for emitting greenhouse gases, and cannot phase them out and switch renewable sources of energy without international funding.

To be sure, India has witnessed significant growth in renewable forms of energy such as solar, wind, and water. It is now the world’s third-largest producer of renewable energy. But it faces a challenge sustaining economic growth and providing reliable, affordable electricity to its citizens.

On a positive note, India has crossed its target of installing 50% power capacity from non-fossil sources five years in advance of target 2030, as per its previous Nationally Determined Contributions updated in 2022.

At this meeting, India is also expected to finalise adaptation indicators – measurable variables used to track the implementation and effectiveness of adaptation strategies in response to climate change.

At the pre-COP meeting in Brazil last month, the Indian Minister of Environment, Bhupendra Yadav, said that adaptation indicators must be rationalised based on “national circumstances, finance, technology, capacity, etc”.

While India’s per capita emissions of about 2 tonnes are far below those of developed countries’ average at 4.76 tonnes, the human cost of climate change is very visible.

The India Meteorological Department recorded over 40 severe heatwave days this year alone. Last year, air pollution mortality cost India 9.5% of its GDP or $339.4 billion, according to the Lancet Countdown 2025 report on Climate Change and Health.

This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

Cheena Kapoor is a Delhi-based independent journalist and photographer focusing on health, environmental, and social issues.