- Bhupender Yadav led India's delegation at Pre-COP31 meetings co-hosted by Australia, Fiji and Tuvalu.
- He urged equal focus on adaptation, mitigation and means of implementation.
- India offered to share coastal resilience and space-based expertise with Pacific partners.
- Yadav cited the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project as an example of tangible resilience.
- COP31 will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.
India has urged equal focus on adaptation, mitigation and the means of implementation as the world prepares for COP31. It also offered to share its coastal and space-based expertise with Pacific Island countries.
Equity and local solutions
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav made the case at the Leaders’ Plenary in Fiji. He leads India’s delegation to the Pre-COP31 meetings, co-hosted by Australia, Fiji and Tuvalu.
Yadav said Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) must be upheld fully for climate action to be meaningful and lasting. He warned that no single model fits every country.
He said local studies and assessments are needed to find answers to new challenges. Those findings, he added, show which mitigation and adaptation steps are needed and the resources they will require.
India’s coastal and space know-how
Yadav said India, with its long coastline and islands, understands the problems facing Pacific Island countries. He pointed to institutions such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR).
According to Yadav, India has built skills in assessing coastal vulnerability, mapping shoreline changes and preparing marine spatial plans. It also runs integrated plans for coastal areas and works to tap the Blue Economy.
India uses its space systems and Earth-observation tools for shoreline monitoring, inundation assessment and cyclone early warning. These tools also support extreme-weather alerts and climate-risk assessment, he said, and India is ready to share them with its Pacific partners.
Cooperation with Pacific partners
Yadav said India has long stood with its Pacific partners. Joint work covers health and wellness, renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, early warning, IT, agriculture and capacity building.
He referred to his visit to Tuvalu. The Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, he said, showed how international cooperation, especially the provision of means of implementation, can build real resilience on the ground. He added that the visit reinforced the need for local solutions to new climate challenges.
Pre-COP is a preparatory meeting held a few weeks before the annual UN Climate Change Conference. This year that conference will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.
