Climate Diplomacy in 2025: A Focus on India's Leadership in COP30

The UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) convenes in November 2025 in the Brazilian city of Belém, the closest major city to the mouth of the Amazon.

- By Santanu Mishra

Besides the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 30), the event will also host the 20th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 20). Further, the seventh meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 7), the 63rd session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 63) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 63) will also meet at Belém.

COP29 attempted to address several critical climate issues, including climate finance, the issue of loss and damage, emissions reduction targets, adaptation and resilience, as well as finding a fine balance in the geopolitical dynamics.

India, with its growing diplomatic clout, emergent economic consolidation and geopolitical ambitions has not only got a stage ready during COP30, but also the developing nations would look up to its proactivity.

COP30 will witness the revival of the demand for securing sufficient funding for developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts as it still remains a central issue. Historically, developing nations have contributed insignificantly to global emissions. In reality, in the present situation, they bear the brunt of the climate impacts. COP29 saw renewed calls for more substantial financing commitments from wealthier nations to meet the needs of vulnerable countries, with a focus on equity in resource distribution.

The issue of “loss and damage” has gained traction in recent COPs, which gave rise to the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund during COP27 held in Egypt. The event at Baku in 2024 focused on operationalizing this fund, determining how contributions will be made and how resources will be distributed to countries suffering irreversible climate impacts. The challenge remains in persuading wealthier nations to contribute meaningfully to this fund.