Voices of Global South must form the basis of future climate debate: Environment minister
India’s environment minister called for restoring trust in global climate negotiations during talks with the UN climate chief on Saturday
India’s environment minister called for restoring trust in global climate negotiations during talks with the UN climate chief on Saturday, amid growing tensions over climate finance and unprecedented global temperature records.
Bhupender Yadav emphasised the critical importance of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building during his meeting with UN Climate chief Simon Stiell, stressing that these elements are “core to enable climate action by developing countries”.
“Voices of the Global South should form the basis of ongoing and future climate discourse,” Yadav wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the meeting.
The high-level talks come as global temperatures continue to shatter records, with January 2025 marking the eighteenth month out of nineteen above the crucial 1.5°C warming threshold. Average surface temperatures reached 13.23°C last month, soaring 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels.
They also follow close after US President Donald Trump, following his return to office, ordered America’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and pledged to roll back key climate policies. The move by the world’s second-largest emitter and historically largest polluter threatens to undermine what has become, especially over the past four years, a unified global response to the climate crisis.
Stiell, visiting India for a business summit, praised the country’s renewable energy achievements, noting it has joined an elite group of only four nations to have installed more than 100 gigawatts of solar capacity.
“Now there is a real opportunity to take the next step, and unleash even bigger benefits for India’s 1.4 billion people and economy. Doing so requires a strong climate plan – a Nationally Determined Contribution. But where in the past these documents focused almost solely on cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases and of fossil fuels, I am asking that these plans now focus on the huge growth potential,” he added.
The discussions follow India’s strong criticism of the COP29 outcome in Baku, where developed nations’ offer of $300 billion in climate finance was dismissed as “too little, too late” by developing nations. The amount falls significantly short of the $600 billion sought by some developing countries.
The Economic Survey 2024-25 highlighted the stark disparity between climate finance needs and commitments, warning that the new global target of $300 billion annually by 2035 falls far short of the estimated $5.1-6.8 trillion required by 2030.
“It is out of sync with the needs of the critical decade when action is required to keep the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement within reach,” the survey noted, adding that developed countries were falling short of their NDC commitments by approximately 38%.
India has largely relied on domestic resources for its climate action, with the public sector playing a central role amid what officials describe as “highly inadequate” international funding flows. The country has suggested it may need to rework its climate targets due to the shortfall in implementation support.
Only seven nations -- the UK, Brazil, the US, Switzerland, New Zealand, the UAE, and Uruguay -- have submitted complete updated NDCs ahead of the UN’s February deadline. While delays are common in such submissions, the UN Secretariat requires plans by September to include them in the NDC Synthesis Report before COP30.
Stiell has maintained an optimistic outlook despite the challenges, noting that global investment in clean energy and infrastructure reached $2 trillion last year, double the investment in fossil fuels. However, he acknowledged the need for stronger climate plans that focus on growth potential rather than solely on emissions cuts.