Preparing for CoP 30: The Need to Reclaim Carbon Space

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hold its 30th Conference of Parties (CoP 30) in Belém, Brazil, from November 10–21. In preparation, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, in collaboration with the UN Global Compact, Karnataka Forest Department, and the Institute of Wood Science & Technology, organised a two-day pre-conference on October 14–15 to outline India’s climate priorities.

Experts and policymakers discussed a range of issues, including adaptation plans for intensifying heatwaves, retreating Himalayan glaciers, forest and biodiversity conservation, renewable and nuclear energy expansion, and climate finance mechanisms.

Rising Global Temperatures and Climate Impacts

Since industrialisation in 1870, global temperatures have risen by 1.2°C, triggering extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires. The year 2024 recorded an alarming 1.54°C increase in average global temperature. Heavy monsoon downpours have caused widespread destruction across the Himalayas due to flooding and landslides.

While early CoP summits focused heavily on Himalayan glacier retreat, recent meetings have shifted attention elsewhere. Experts at the Bengaluru meet urged that the Himalayas and Tibetan permafrost be reintroduced into global climate discourse, given the region’s accelerating melt rate and its impact on hydrology, soil stability, and carbon release.

Forest Conservation and Deforestation Risks

Inaugurating the event, Dr. Meenakshi Negi, Head of the Karnataka Forest Force, stressed the need to reduce community dependence on forests and ensure stricter conservation. Faulty implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, she said, has led to forest land encroachments, weakening India’s carbon sequestration capacity.

Globally, about 391 million hectares of tropical forests—home to 53 million people—face high deforestation risk, primarily due to agriculture and infrastructure expansion. Despite India’s claim that forest carbon sequestration potential rose by 51% in a decade, experts questioned this figure, citing ongoing diversion of forest land for projects such as the Sharavathy Pump Storage Project and Hubballi–Ankola rail link.

Climate Finance and Developed Countries’ Commitments

Climate finance remained a key focus. Ms. Chandani Raina, Senior Advisor at India’s Ministry of Finance, noted that developed countries have yet to fulfil the $100 billion annual funding commitment made at the 2009 Copenhagen CoP. Only about 15–20% has been delivered since 2021.

At CoP 29 in Baku, developed nations proposed mobilising $300 billion annually from 2026—mostly through loans, increasing debt risks for developing countries. The demand for $1.3 trillion in annual funding will now be taken up at CoP 30 in Belém.

Addressing Methane Emissions and Western Narratives

Experts also clarified misconceptions about India’s methane emissions, noting that they stem mainly from livestock and rice cultivation, and account for less than 1% of global totals. Indian negotiators at CoP 30, they said, should counter Western narratives that overlook India’s survival-driven emissions while focusing on luxury-driven emissions in developed countries.

Lifestyle Study Highlights Inequality in Carbon Use

A study presented by Dr. Chirag Dhara of Krea University revealed that if the entire global population had adopted the carbon-intensive lifestyles of industrialised countries, the world would have crossed the 1.5°C warming threshold decades ago. The “modest lifestyles” of the global majority, he argued, have effectively delayed planetary destabilisation, giving the world a crucial window for climate action.