India's climate test at Belém

As COP30 opens in Belém, Brazil, the world faces a sobering test of climate promises made a decade ago in Paris, pledges intact on paper but trust fading fast.

- TARUN AGARWAL

Emissions continue to rise: adaptation funds remain inadequate, and the 1.5°C goal, once the rallying cry of global diplomacy, is slipping from reach.

For India, COP30 is more than a forum for negotiation. It is a test of whether growth and green goals can move together. Over the next two weeks, New Delhi will push for fairer finance, showcase its domestic transition through green bonds and digital innovation, and seek to redefine how the Global South balances responsibility with the right to development.

When countries gathered in Paris in 2015, they agreed to pursue nationally determined pathways to limit temperature rise “well below 2°C.” Ten years later, the results are mixed. Renewable capacity has expanded, but not because finance flowed as promised, rather because technology became cheaper. For developing economies, climate finance remains the weakest link.

The UN Climate Secretariat reported on Day 1 of COP30 that fresh national commitments could reduce the global emissions by about 12 percent by 2035 compared to 2019 levels. The new pledges are ambitious, a sign of progress, but still fall far short of what is needed. UN Secretary-General António Guterres termed missing the 1.5°C target “a moral failure and deadly negligence,” setting the tone for what is likely to be one of the most consequential COPs since Paris.

India’s progress mirrors the paradox of the global effort. Solar capacity has crossed 80 GW; green hydrogen is now policy mainstream, and electric-mobility projects are scaling fast. Yet coal still underpins much of the grid, and adaptation investments lag behind. The coming fortnight will test whether India can sustain its growth story while reinforcing its credibility as a climate-responsible economy. That balance between industrial ambition and environmental accountability, defines India’s credibility in global markets as much as in climate diplomacy.