Envoy to represent India at COP30 Leaders’ Summit; Environment Minister Yadav to join later

India will be represented by the Brazilian ambassador at the COP30 Leaders’ Summit to be held in Belém on November 6 and 7, while Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav will lead the country’s delegation in the second week of the UN climate conference.

Mr Yadav skipped COP29 in Baku, where he strongly opposed India’s $300 billion climate finance target as inadequate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to skip COP30, which will be held from November 10 to 21, sources said.

More than 140 delegations, including 57 heads of state and 39 ministers, are expected to attend the leaders’ summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The two-day event will determine the political direction of COP30, which marks ten years since the Paris Agreement, and will focus on forests, renewable energy, adaptation, food security and climate finance.

Sources said at COP30, India is expected to underline that developed countries can rebuild trust by honoring past commitments and increasing predictable, grant-based financing for adaptation, loss and damage.

At the pre-COP meeting in Brazil last month, Mr Yadav said COP30 should be the “COP of Harmonization” and the focus should move from dialogue to concrete action on the ground.

“Dialogue is important, but action is imperative. We must now focus on implementing ambitious climate measures and, above all, solving the most pressing problem: the urgent lack of resources for developing countries to adapt and achieve mitigation,” he said.

India said strengthening public financing for adaptation could encourage additional support from other sources and that new processes should not be introduced that risk weakening the framework of the Paris Agreement.

For India, and the Global South more broadly, COP30 will be a test of whether climate conferences can move beyond slow negotiations to deliver affordable, accessible funds.

The UN’s “1.3 Trillion Roadmap from Baku to Belém” released on Wednesday lays out a plan to mobilize at least $1.3 trillion a year to developing countries by 2035 through cheaper loans, guarantees and debt relief instruments.

Brazil will also use the leaders’ summit to launch the “Tropical Forest Forever Facility,” which aims to mobilize $125 billion for forest conservation through results-based payments over the next decade.

The initiative, together with the UN road map, is expected to shape finance discussions in Belem.

The Indian delegation is expected to highlight the country’s contributions through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Coalition and International Big Cat Alliance as examples of collaborative and action-oriented multilateralism.

COP30 is taking place in a complex geopolitical environment, with the United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and many developed countries reassessing their climate strategies due to economic and energy security concerns.