Mains: GS II – Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
Why in News?
Recently, the COP30 has begun to discuss the future climate goals and the concerns of south Asia is very crucial to discuss.
What is COP30?
COP – UN Climate Change Conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change that brings together almost every country on Earth.
COP is where the world comes together to agree on the actions to address the climate crisis, such as:
Limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius
Helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change
Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Participators – COP30 will bring together
World leaders and negotiators from the member states (or Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with business leaders,
Young people,
Climate scientists,
Indigenous Peoples, and
Civil society
They share insights and best practices to strengthen global, collective and inclusive climate action.
COP30 – It stands for the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a landmark international treaty agreed in 1992, and parent treaty to the 2015 Paris Agreement
It is taking place in Belém, Brazil from 10 to 21 November 2025.
What are the priorities and concerns of south Asia?
Implementation issues – The gap between what is promised in action and finance, and what is delivered, is glaring.
Whether it is in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or delivering finance, the challenge remains.
So far, only 65 countries have submitted enhanced NDCs.
A recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) revealed that out of the 203 initiatives assessed (launched since 2015), approximately 5% of the initiatives have achieved their stated goals.
Need – There is a need for the Global South to harness regional cooperation to create impactful and targeted initiatives.
Climate pledges require robust governance, including a clear plan and timeline for reporting progress.
Regional cooperation – Willing countries can, first, strengthen a regional forum to build a common stance and advance shared action that can be recognised at platforms such as:
The G-20
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
BRICS.
Strengthen regional cooperation by sharing knowledge, aligning priorities and scaling technology solutions across borders.
Model initiatives – India’s Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Nepal’s Sagarmatha Sambaad focused on mountain vulnerabilities, show how focused partnerships can advance both national and regional goals.
According to the ADB, South Asia could experience an increase in days exceeding 35°C — from around 100 to approximately 200 annually — by 2100.
The region-specific economic and non-economic impacts are diverse
Nepal’s glacial lake outburst flood,
Coastal threats in the Maldives,
India facing sweltering heatwaves,
Sri Lanka’s emerging drylands and water stress.
Hence, governance structures should be inclusive, giving voice to the underrepresented, such as subnational governments, local communities and women.
Building trust – The past is marred by delayed finances, broken promises and diluted commitments from developed countries.
The current geopolitics is not conducive to an ambitious climate outcome.
Further, an easy exit from a climate agreement not only leads to increased emissions but also undermines trust in the process.
Analysis by the CEEW shows that developed countries are not on track to meet their 2030 NDC target.
Hence, developed countries must fulfil their existing pledges and build momentum with ambitious NDCs aligned with 1.5°C, reinstating faith in multilateralism.
Streamlined financing – Deliver climate finance that is
Predictable (sustainable funding),
Adequate (meets the needs and balanced with mitigation),
Fairly distributed
Accessible (easy, low-transaction cost access with priority for vulnerable countries),
Non-debt inducing (grants and highly concessional financing instruments).
For this, the Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T ($1.3 trillion) must be underpinned by clear pathways – who delivers, how much, by when, and with what accountability.
Without clarity, the $300 billion adaptation target by 2035 is meaningless.
South Asian countries, particularly the Least Developed Countries, must call for a tripling of adaptation finance with operational clarity.
Dedicated regional allocations from multilateral funds such as the Green Climate Fund, the Loss and Damage Fund, and the Adaptation Fund can simplify and amplify access to predictable finance.
Most importantly, design and launch a ‘South Asian resilience finance facility’ to mobilise and channel innovative finance to support domestic priorities and fast-track nature-based solutions.
Inclusion of non-state actors – Non-state actors such as sub-national entities, the private sector, civil society, youth, academic institutions, as well as businesses can supplement state efforts toward enhancing ambition.
The private sector - Can unlock finance.
Sub-national entities – Can align with domestic goals and deliver.
Civil society – Can conduct independent assessments to expedite the process of bridging domestic capacity gaps regionally.
They can develop a regional compendium to share promising traditional knowledge, practices, and systems across the region.
Youth – Can mobilise urgency, innovation and intergenerational equity into climate solutions.
Businesses - Can mainstream sustainability into markets and value chains.
If done rightly, it can reinforce a cycle of verified action that builds trust and accountability within the multilateral climate governance.
Technology flows – Most of the South Asian countries are still largely excluded from international technology flows.
A recent report by the CEEW shows less than one in three initiatives focus exclusively solely on Africa, Asia, or Latin America.
Digital innovation, including artificial intelligence, big data, digital public infrastructure (DPI), blockchain and remote sensing, can unlock new forms of data cooperation and efficiency.
What lies ahead?
The time for promises is now over and delivery will be the only currency of trust at COP30.
That delivery must rest on three mutuals:
Mutual clarity (about responsibilities and pathways),
Mutual cooperation (that recognises both vulnerabilities and opportunities)
Mutual implementation (turning promises into practice, across borders and sectors).
South Asia is leading, innovating and demanding that multilateralism be restored to credibility through delivery.
