COP31 in Antalya: India Asks Developed Countries to Deliver the Climate Finance They Owe
India delivered its opening statement at COP31, the 31st Conference of the Parties (the yearly meeting of all member countries) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP31 is being held in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026.
The statement was given by the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. India urged developed (rich) countries to meet their climate finance obligations under the Paris Agreement.
India pointed to Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which says developed countries "shall provide" financial resources to developing countries. It said public money from rich-country governments must stay central, especially for adaptation (coping with climate impacts that are already happening).
India stressed equity (fairness) and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC). It said the UNFCCC and the 2015 Paris Agreement are the most inclusive platforms, because every country has a voice there.
India welcomed the COP31 presidency's idea of a "COP of Implementation": talks that turn into real action on the ground. It also voiced concern that global warming may cross 1.5°C, and named just transition and adaptation as major challenges for the Global South.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance
The New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, is the world's new target for how much climate money must flow to developing countries each year. It was agreed at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. It replaced the older promise of USD 100 billion a year, which rich countries first made at Copenhagen in 2009. The NCQG has two layers: a core goal led by developed countries, and a much larger, wider goal for "all actors".
At COP31, India went back to the legal root of this debate. By citing Article 9.1 and asking for public finance to stay central, India is pushing back against the idea that the broad, mixed-source NCQG numbers can replace a clear duty on rich governments to pay.
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)
CBDR-RC is a basic principle of world climate law. It says every country shares the duty to protect the climate, but not every country must do the same amount. Rich countries caused most past emissions and have more money and technology, so they must do more and help poorer countries. Developing countries can act according to their own capacity and development needs.
India's COP31 statement rested its finance demand on equity and CBDR-RC. In simple terms, India's argument is: those who polluted more and are richer must pay more, and this duty is written into the treaties.
Adaptation Finance Under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
Adaptation finance is money spent to help people, farms, cities and nature cope with climate effects that are already happening or can no longer be avoided. It pays for things like drought-tolerant seeds, early warning systems, stronger embankments and heat action plans. Unlike clean energy projects, adaptation projects rarely earn profits. So they depend mostly on public money and grants, not private investors.
India told COP31 that public finance from developed countries is central to strengthening adaptation finance flows. Since adaptation brings no profit, private money will not fill this gap, which is why India linked adaptation directly to the Article 9.1 duty of rich governments.
- COP31: 31st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, held in Antalya, Türkiye, 9 to 20 November 2026
- COP31 arrangement: Türkiye hosts; Australia leads the negotiations as "President of Negotiations"
- India's statement cited Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement (developed countries "shall provide" financial resources)
- NCQG (COP29, Baku, 2024): at least USD 300 billion/year by 2035 led by developed countries; wider goal of USD 1.3 trillion/year by 2035
- Old goal replaced by the NCQG: USD 100 billion/year (first promised at Copenhagen, 2009)
- Adaptation finance: double by 2025 (COP26, Glasgow); at least triple by 2035 (COP30, Belém)
- CBDR-RC: Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration (1992); Article 3.1 of the UNFCCC
- Paris Agreement temperature goal: well below 2°C, pursuing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels