NEW DELHI — Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday outlined India’s strategic agenda for the upcoming 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye. Speaking to reporters in the capital, Yadav stated that New Delhi will advocate for solution-driven climate action, non-debt-creating finance from developed economies, and party-guided mitigation outcomes during the summit scheduled for Nov. 9–20, 2026.
India intends to negotiate alongside regional and economic blocs including the G-77 and China, Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), and BASIC to prioritize the developmental needs of the Global South.
Focus on Capital Transfers, Technology, and Just Transition
Central to India’s stance in Antalya will be initiating a formal Climate Finance Work Programme. New Delhi maintains that financial contributions from high-income nations under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement should consist primarily of public grant-based or concessional funding rather than commercial loans that escalate debt burdens in developing countries.
Additionally, India will oppose top-down global emission targets that disregard national circumstances, insisting that mitigation strategies under the Global Stocktake remain facilitative and non-punitive. The environment minister also emphasized that technology transfer mechanisms must address existing Intellectual Property Right (IPR) constraints, trade barriers, and cost structures, while carbon market participation must remain voluntary.
On transition policies, India plans to press for climate justice principles that safeguard energy accessibility and economic growth for lower-income populations.
Review of Biodiversity (CBD COP17) and Land Restoration (UNCCD COP17) Outings
The ministry also reviewed India’s negotiations at two other major UN summits. At the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, India urged developed nations to fulfill financial commitments under Article 20(2) without shifting burdens onto developing countries or mandatory expansions of the contributor base. India supported the Cali Fund mechanism for fair benefit-sharing on Digital Sequence Information (DSI) while asserting national sovereignty over genetic resources.
At the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, India assumed the presidency of the Asia-Pacific Regional Group. Reaffirming its target to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, New Delhi urged international backing to transition from reactive drought emergency responses to permanent ecological resilience, launching its inaugural guide dedicated to restoring native grasslands and open natural ecosystems.
Senior Ministry of Environment officials, including Secretary Narendra Bhooshan and Additional Secretaries Amandeep Garg and Ashutosh Agnihotri, were present during the media briefing.
According to an official statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Delhi.
