New Delhi – The recently concluded COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, delivered measured but meaningful outcomes for developing countries, according to climate experts and former negotiators. While progress on fossil fuel transitions and adaptation finance remained limited, COP30 is being lauded for keeping the priorities of the Global South on the global agenda despite significant geopolitical headwinds.

Speaking at a discussion in New Delhi on Friday, former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran emphasized that shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy is essential for climate action, but lamented that the ambitious commitments made at COP28 in Dubai did not translate into concrete outcomes at Belem. “India supports the transition, but the question of who pays for it remains unresolved,” he said, noting that the Ukraine-induced global energy crisis has forced many countries to temporarily return to fossil fuels.

Saran highlighted the pressures facing India to reduce emissions, even as the country has made substantial progress in renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency. “India has very good stories to tell, but these get overshadowed by the focus on current emissions, which skews perceptions,” he said.

From “What” to “How”: India’s Role in Climate Negotiations

Arunabha Ghosh, Special Envoy to COP30 and CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, argued that India should focus on hosting a COP that emphasizes practical solutions—on “how” things can be delivered—rather than merely discussing “what” needs to be done. Ghosh praised the Brazilian COP30 presidency for “keeping the ship afloat” amid setbacks in other multilateral processes, such as global plastics treaty talks and International Maritime Organization discussions, which “completely collapsed under pressure from the US.”

Former Additional Secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad, who served as India’s chief climate negotiator from 2013 to 2021, stressed the importance of realistic expectations from COP meetings. “These meetings are not meant to be revolutionary. Their success should be judged against what was on the table and what was delivered,” he said, noting that while developing countries had hoped for stronger adaptation finance outcomes, the global funding environment was constrained by major donors stepping back from active climate engagement.

Adaptation Finance: Progress and Limitations

Developing nations, including least-developed countries, small-island states, and several Latin American and African nations, had pushed for a tripling of grant-based adaptation finance by 2030, targeting USD 120 billion. However, the final Belem text moved the tripling deadline to 2035, reflecting compromises amid geopolitical realities.

Despite these limitations, COP30 achieved notable progress in key areas. A significant positive for developing countries was the creation of a two-year work programme on climate finance under Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, including Article 9.1, which obligates developed countries to provide financial support. “It was one of India’s key asks, and at least we now have a work programme,” said Prasad, highlighting this as a tangible step forward.

Trade Measures and the “Global Mutirão”

Experts also welcomed progress on previously contentious unilateral trade measures (UTMs), which had been repeatedly blocked at previous COPs. At COP30, issues such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism were brought onto the agenda through presidency-led consultations. The resulting “Global Mutirão” outcome establishes three annual dialogues on trade to be held during UN climate meetings in Bonn in 2026, 2027, and 2028. Experts noted that this formally creates a space for developing countries to discuss trade measures that could impact their exports, marking an important development in climate-related trade governance.

Strategic Cooperation and Technology Sharing

Laveesh Bhandari, President of the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, emphasized the need for India to deepen cooperation on climate-related technologies, including with China, while maintaining its national security considerations. He highlighted that such collaboration is critical for enabling practical climate solutions in energy, agriculture, and industrial sectors.

Conclusion: COP30 as a Realistic Platform for the Global South

While COP30 did not deliver a revolutionary breakthrough on fossil fuel transition or adaptation finance, it successfully preserved the negotiating space for developing countries amid a challenging geopolitical environment. By establishing work programmes on finance, creating formal trade dialogue mechanisms, and maintaining focus on the Global South’s priorities, the Belem summit demonstrated that incremental, realistic progress remains possible.

Experts agreed that the summit reinforced the principle that success should be measured by what was realistically on the table versus what was delivered. For India and other developing nations, COP30 underscores the importance of strategic engagement, pragmatic goal-setting, and sustained advocacy to ensure that climate action remains inclusive, equitable, and grounded in the realities of resource constraints and geopolitical pressures.

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