India has reaffirmed its commitment to climate multilateralism and the principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), calling for a fair, equitable and ambitious outcome at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, Türkiye.
Delivering India’s opening statement at the conference, Narendra Bhooshan, Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, thanked Türkiye and Australia for their leadership of COP31. He also commended the efforts of all parties and negotiating groups to strengthen climate multilateralism.
India aligned itself with the statements delivered by the G77 and China, the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) and the BASIC group, the statement said.
Emphasising the importance of multilateral cooperation, India said the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement remained the most inclusive platforms for addressing climate change, ensuring that every country had a voice in the process.
India reiterated its commitment to the framework, which it said must be guided by equity and the principle of CBDR-RC.
Welcoming the presidency’s vision of a ‘COP of Implementation’, based on dialogue, consensus and action, India said dialogue builds trust, consensus ensures collective ownership of outcomes, and action translates commitments into progress on the ground.
Highlighting the growing challenges associated with the prospect of global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, India stressed the urgency of equity to ensure that no country or community was left behind in global climate action.
India said it remained committed to contributing its fair share to climate efforts while pursuing the development and well-being of its people. It also noted that ensuring a just transition and meeting adaptation requirements remained major challenges, particularly for countries in the Global South, where these concerns were closely linked to development priorities.
On climate finance, India stressed that public financial support from developed countries remained essential to enabling climate action in developing nations and strengthening adaptation finance to address their vulnerabilities.
It also underlined the importance of Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which obligates developed countries to provide financial resources to developing countries.
Reaffirming its constructive engagement at COP31, India said it would work with all parties to secure a fair, equitable and ambitious outcome.
-PIB
