COP30: Expectations, Themes & India’s Climate stand

Introduction

The 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Belém, Brazil, and is being seen as one of the most consequential climate conferences of the decade.

As temperatures continue to rise and extreme weather events worsen, COP30 will convene amidst:

• Slow implementation of climate finance
• Growing skepticism of climate data
• Increased desire for action on climate change and not just commitments
• Increased risk for low- and middle-income countries

This prompts important questions:

• Will countries finally fulfill their climate commitments?
• Will climate action lead to real changes in the lives of everyday people?

The COP30 Presidency has adopted the theme: “Reconnection – With nature, with people, and with commitments.”

This vision incorporates UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell’s central argument that global climate governance needs to be informed by Indigenous knowledge, and community-driven environmental stewardship.

Background: How did we get to COP30?

To provide context for COP30, below is a brief timeline of notable COP landmarks that helped shape today’s climate agenda.

COP21 (2015) – Paris Agreement

• Historic agreement to hold the global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with a preference of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• Introduced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

COP26 (2021) – Glasgow

• First global mention of phase down from coal.
• Launch of the Global Methane Pledge topic of conversation.

COP27 (2022) – Sharm el-Sheikh

• Significant growth with a consensus to establish the Loss and Damage Fund for vulnerable countries.

COP28 (2023) – Dubai

• The first Global Stocktake demonstrated that the world is off track to meet climate targets.
• Calls for a substantial increase in renewable energy capacity by 2030.

COP29 (2024) – Baku

• Dialogue about the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG).
• Lack of clarity about how funds would be delivered continued.

COP30 (2025) – Belém

• Ten years since the Paris Agreement.
• Expected to act as a bridge from pledges to measurable implementation.

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Key Challenges at COP30

Information Integrity Crisis

For the first time at COP negotiations, climate misinformation related to information integrity is a formal agenda item.
Relevant considerations:

• Manipulation of climate data
• Scientific narratives have become increasingly politicized
• Fake or misleading claims regarding environmental information

A Declaration has already been endorsed by several countries regarding information integrity – this is indeed the first time.

Climate Finance Gap

The world is currently far from achieving the annual USD 1–1.3 trillion needed to address the climate crisis.

Developing countries desire:

• Predictable and assured finance
• Concessional and available finance mechanisms
• Clear rules regarding the NCQG being proposed

Adaptation & Health Risks

With climate-related health impacts exacerbating, Brazil has since launched the Belém Health Action Plan. Health challenges that are set to be integrated within this plan include:

• Health impacts from extreme heat
• Vector-borne diseases
• Public health

Indigenous Rights & Land Stewardship

Indigenous people remind us that:

“The health of our lands, waters, and skies cannot be separated from the health of our communities.”

Thier roles in climate governance in the Amazon will be critical to COP30. We expect:

• Increased calls for land rights
• Increased recognition of indigenous solutions to climate actions
• Increased calls to protect vital ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest

The 1.5°C Debate

One of the key sticking points will be the language related to the 1.5°C temperature goal. Several countries are seeking strong and explicit language.

India, the Arab Group and emerging economies are hesitant to commit to wording that some nations might use to unfairly shift liability to developing countries.

This debate will be key in any final declaration that might come out of COP30.

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Agenda of COP30

Strengthening NDCs for 2035

Countries are expected to revise and strengthening their 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) so that updated NDCs are aligned with updated Paris Agreement pathways. It is essential that NDCs be science based, measurable, and sector specific.

Scaling Climate Finance

Key areas of negotiations will be:

• Operationalising the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)
• Scaling global climate Finance to USD 1.3 trillion per year
• Simplifying the procedures that slow climate funds from getting to places that need them and the climate to work.
• Finance is one of the biggest barriers to action on climate.

Transparency Data Integrity

High level sessions will address:

• Transparency of climate data
• Global climate data, open access and global availability
• This pertains to the larger movement against falsehoods and untruths.

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Indigenous Inclusion

COP30 seeks to establish official mechanisms for integrating Indigenous Conservation as a key approach to national climate action.
This would also include:

• Acknowledging traditional ecological knowledge
• Protecting Indigenous land rights
• Directing climate finance to Indigenous communities

COP30 Objectives

1. Delivering the 2035 NDC Architecture

To move from general promises to specific, actionable, science-driven pledges by 2035.

2. To Provide a Finance Roadmap By 2030

To conclude the long awaited formal framework to scale climate finance beyond 2025, with a focus on:

• Accessibility
• Predictability
• Accountability

3. To Make the Integrity of Information a Permanent Tenet

To develop global action to address misinformation, manipulated climate science and politicised narratives.
This will be a permanent feature of climate governance.

4. To Centre People & Communities

To ensure climate policies lead to quantifiable improvements in:

• Livelihoods
• Health
• Jobs
• Water systems
• Ecosystem resilience

5. To Operationalise Indigenous-Led Frameworks

To include Indigenous knowledge systems into national climate policy supported by:

• Dedicated financing
• Technology support
• Customer capacity building

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Reports Shared at COP30

1. NDC Synthesis Report (Updated)

It appears that the global curve of greenhouse gas emissions may be beginning to slope downwards. Though, it is still too early to tell for sure.

2. Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2025

Tracks the progress of implementation a decade on from the Paris Agreement, which mentions the gaps in adaptation finance and adaptation implementation.

3. Information Integrity Report.

• Maps the spread of climate misinformation that is harmful and coordinated.
• Proposed a global climate fact-checking and verification ecosystem.

4. Carbon Market Progress Report.

Looks back on the progress made under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, as the voluntary carbon market is, by most accounts, very active and healthy, but progress continues to be delayed on governance rules.

Major Decisions & Announcements at COP30

Brazil’s Announcements.

• Official launch of the Belém Health Action Plan, noting health as a pillar of climate strategy.
• Brazil provided a roadmap to mobilize 1.3 trillion USD per year in climate finance globally – this being notable movement in NCQG negotiations.

India in COP30 – Key Announcements & Positions.

1. Climate Justice & Equity.

India strongly reaffirmed that climate transition must be:

• Just, equitable, and inclusive.
• Based on the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) principle.
  Grounded in the historical responsibility of developed countries.

India’s message was that developing economies cannot be burdened unfairly.

2. Climate Finance is Non-Negotiable

India was clear that at COP30, climate finance remains the primary ask.

They pushed for:

• A universally accepted climate finance definition
• Increased access to affordable concessional finance
• More robust global support for adaptation-based projects
• Technology transfer free from restrictive intellectual property laws

India asserted that ambition without finance is meaningless.

3. India’s Position on the 1.5°C Debate

Along with the Arab Group, India preferred:

• Aggressive language concerning 1.5°C not put undue pressure on developing countries
• Climate pathways to be science-based, equitable and representative of varying national circumstances

India supports ambition but rejected language that laid the unfair burden on developing countries.

4. Climate-Based Trade Barriers Warning

India took issue with emerging “green protectionism,” such as:

• European Union-style carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM)
• Green tariffs
• Carbon border taxes

India warned those measures could:

• Harm developing economies
• Distort global trade
• Contradict common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) equity principles.

5. India’s Growing Climate Partnerships

India did not announce any major mega pledges but reaffirmed leadership with:

• Solar energy, through the International Solar Alliance
• Green hydrogen, through the Global Green Hydrogen Alliance
• Disaster resilience, through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
• Biofuels, circular economy, and clean mobility

India positioned itself as a provider of solutions as a negotiator.

Importance of COP30

For the first time alongside emissions, the integrity of information, truths, and accuracy of data, and combatting misinformation have become just as serious of a matter. Without trust, climate action falling apart.

• Indigenous knowledge has shifted from symbolic to integrating into formal climate policy frameworks.
• India’s focus on livelihoods signals that the climate policy landscape is evolving more broadly: climate policy must function not solely for negotiators, but also for farmers, fishers, workers and frontline communities.
• The finance roadmap actually points to an important reality: climate action cannot function off promises, it needs predictable, long-term funding.
• COP30 has shifted the climate narrative from targets and pledges to delivery and transformation.
• This is the first COP in years where the discussions of politics feel linked to real lives and not just emissions graphs.

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UPSC Previous Year Questions on UNFCCC, Paris Agreement & COPs

Conclusion

For those reasons, COP30 is not just another climate conference, it is a moment of accountability.

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the divide between ambition and action could not be more clear. COP30 calls on countries to reconnect with:

• Communities
• Science
• Nature

If successful, COP30 will be noted as the summit that:

• Restored the integrity of information
• Put people and public health at the centre of climate action
• Lifted Indigenous leadership

FAQs on COP30

1. What is COP30?

COP30 is the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference where countries review climate actions and negotiate stronger commitments under the Paris Agreement.

2. Where will COP30 be held?

COP30 will take place in Belém, Brazil, near the Amazon rainforest.

3. What is the theme of COP30?

The broad theme focuses on climate justice, protecting forests, and accelerating global emissions reduction.

4. What controversies surround COP30?

Concerns include Brazil’s Amazon deforestation, Indigenous rights, slow global finance delivery, and debates on fossil fuel phase-out.

5. What is the role of the UNFCCC in COP30?

UNFCCC provides the framework, rules, and negotiation platform for all COP meetings.

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