Survival, Not Strategy

As nations converge in Belem for COP30, the debate over adaptation and climate justice reopens unresolved questions of equity, accountability and survival

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conference of Parties (COP) is an annual summit held in different countries to address various aspects of climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

For the next edition of the Conference of Parties (COP30), the community of nations will descend for a huddle at Belem, Brazil, in November 2025, with the centre of gravity likely to revolve around “Adaptation and Climate Justice.” Being located in the Amazon, the conservation of the Amazon forests — and forests around the world — will also assume centrality among the proposed themes.

Adaptation versus Mitigation has always been a subject of discourse among climate warriors and experts. ‘The United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defines adaptation as a process of adjustment to actual and expected climatic conditions, whereas mitigation is a process aimed at preventing new and reducing existing disaster risk while managing the residual risk. Though much has been thought and done by successive COPs on mitigation — be it building consensus among nations, generating funds (though sluggishly), and running various programmes — very little has been achieved on the adaptation front. Adaptation, rightly argued as a survival need of poorer nations today, contrasts with mitigation, which has long-term ramifications. India, as a frontrunner in mitigation, has allocated in excess of 232,000 crore to states for various mitigation schemes over a period of five years, commencing 2021-22, in its 15th Finance Commission Report. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to “Panchamrit” at Glasgow's COP26 reflects national gravitas in mitigation efforts. On that account, the theme of “Adaptation and Climate Justice” is a welcome initiative at COP30.