India seeks flexibility, pragmatism, mutual respect for balanced COP31 outcome

NEW DELHI: India has called for flexibility, pragmatism and mutual respect to secure an ambitious and balanced outcome at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP31.

Speaking at a plenary discussion on political landing zones and outcomes at the Pre-COP31 meeting in Fiji, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said the intensifying impacts of climate change demand moving beyond rhetoric towards implementation and convergence.

“Called for an ambitious and balanced outcome at COP 31, where higher ambition is matched by climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, and implementation respects nationally determined pathways,” Yadav posted on X.

Reflecting on the Pre-COP discussions, Yadav said the shared ground among Parties was “far greater than our divisions”.

He highlighted broad convergence on remaining collectively anchored to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

“Higher ambition requires proportionally higher commitments, particularly through scaled-up climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building; and shifting the collective focus decisively towards implementation,” said Yadav in his address.

He said implementation must respect nationally determined pathways, allowing each country to transition according to its national circumstances and development imperatives.

Addressed the Plenary on Political Landing Zones at Pre COP 31 in Nadi, Fiji.

Called for an ambitious and balanced outcome at COP 31, where higher ambition is matched by climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, and implementation respects nationally determined pathways.

https://t.co/b1XWTNPfM6

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) October 8, 2026

Yadav stressed the need for innovative solutions and continued reforms to accelerate climate action, saying greater convergence was needed on approaches to achieving shared global goals.

“The time has come to demonstrate flexibility on all sides,” he said, calling for optimisation of the tools already available under the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

He highlighted the inclusion of Article 9.1 on the provisional agenda as an opportunity to address the matching of finance to country needs. He also emphasised the strategic use of Article 6 cooperative approaches to address gaps in finance and other means of implementation and unlock market-driven resources for sustainable development.

Yadav said India expects COP31 to chart a way forward to enhance engagement, technical cooperation and targeted support for building capabilities. He said India stands ready for open and transparent dialogue to resolve these issues in the run-up to COP31 and ensure “a balanced, equitable, and historic outcome” for the global community, particularly the most vulnerable.

He further emphasised that climate multilateralism can be strengthened at COP31 through an inclusive, consultative and consensus-based approach.