Bengaluru: The United Nations’ (UN) 31st Conference of Parties (COP31) on climate change kicked off in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 9. Around 68,500 delegates from more than 190 countries will participate in this year’s COP, which has been dubbed the ‘Implementation COP.’ Climate finance – funds required to implement adaptation and mitigation measures, as well as compensate for losses and damages caused by climate change, especially in vulnerable countries such as India and Nepal – will be among the key issues discussed at the annual summit. Finance is also something India has said it will push for in negotiations and closed-door discussions as member nations decide on further action to reduce carbon emissions and, in turn, the impacts of climate change.India’s own track record at home, however, leaves much to be desired, despite its claims of progress. While India has submitted to the UN that it has progressed on various climate change mitigation actions, including increasing the share of renewable energy and restoring degraded land, the Union government is simultaneously pushing ahead with infrastructure projects that threaten not only indigenous communities, but also wildlife habitats like coral reefs and hundreds of hectares of lush rainforests. These projects come with significant carbon footprints that existing mitigation measures cannot compensate for, experts have warned.This assumes even more relevance as latest data predicts that India’s emissions are set to rise. Per a study released by the Global Carbon Budget Project on November 10, the second day of COP31, India’s emissions are projected to increase by 4.4%, which is higher than the 3.5% average annual growth over the last decade.A ‘COP of implementation’ The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conducts a Conference of Parties on climate change every year. This is where representatives of all member nations that are signatories to the Paris Agreement – including world leaders, scientists, rights and climate activists and members of the civil society – meet annually to discuss, debate and negotiate on actions needed to keep global temperatures below 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.This is the primary objective of the Paris Agreement, to which nearly 200 countries, including India, are signatories. Discussions also focus on adapting to and mitigating human-induced climate change, primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels.This year’s COP is the 31st of its kind, with the first held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. It marks an unusual arrangement, with Türkiye hosting the summit and overseeing the Action Agenda (a set of voluntary pledges and initiatives that countries make during COPs), while Australia will be responsible for the formal negotiations, including discussions and the drafting of official texts.On the morning of November 9, at the ceremonial opening of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye’s environment, urbanisation and climate change minister Murat Kurum was appointed president of this year’s COP. Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, will lead the formal climate negotiations. Both hosts, incidentally, have faced criticism for their reluctance to transition away from polluting fossil fuels, one of the main issues COPs seek to tackle.Participants attend the technical session on assessing the socio-economic impacts of response measures for GST outcomes. Photo: UN Climate Change/ Kubilay Ciftci.Just ahead of the plenary session on November 9, the presidency announced the Action Agenda. It will include discussions on electrification, as the summit aims to push member nations to transition faster to renewable energy. The target is 35% electrification globally by 2035. Climate finance is also big on the agenda. Funding for losses and damages is expected to be a major point of discussion, given the several extreme weather events witnessed recently, including the flash floods in Nepal in August. Adaptation finance will also be on the agenda.Also read: Why the Ongoing Protests Over Voter Deletions are Just as Relevant for Climate Action and the Environment“If we want to hit $300 billion in adaptation finance by 2035, we need a clear baseline and a monitoring mechanism that reflects real needs on the ground. Public money has to go where markets can’t, deep adaptation, urban resilience, small enterprise,” Ajay Mathur, who has led India’s negotiations under the Paris Agreement and headed the International Solar Alliance previously, said in a statement.This year’s COP has been nicknamed ‘a COP of implementation’ (organisers called the previous COP at Belem, Brazil, a ‘COP of truth’). Turkiye and Australia have mentioned that the focus will also be on implementation and translating targets and plans into concrete action.A crucial timeImplementation is particularly crucial right now, for COP31 begins amid geopolitical shifts, energy crises and several extreme weather events, including the flash floods in Nepal, in which climate change played a role.The US-Iran standoff has resulted in the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on and driving up global gas and oil prices. Products made from these raw materials have also been affected. India’s imports of fertilisers, for instance, suffered. Many countries, especially Asian and south east Asian ones, have been hit by energy crises. Many have also turned to hurriedly strengthening their renewable energy arsenals, as Japan has.“In the face of stiff geopolitical headwinds, nations must once again come together and drive real-world progress to protect more people and ensure they benefit from climate action,” said the UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell a day before COP31 kicked off.“This will be a COP that converts pledges and targets into concrete results, across both the negotiations and the Global Climate Action Agenda…But the meeting takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing fossil-fuel cost crisis which has sent energy and transport costs spiraling. Worsening climate disasters are hurting every nation, wrecking lives and hurting human health, pushing up food prices and hunger. Now more than ever, the climate crisis and its causes are on every kitchen table, hitting every economy and population hard,” Stiell added. “No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight. But every recent COP has made essential progress. COP31 in Antalya will, too,” he said.Meanwhile, the United States, the second -largest annual emitter of carbon annually and the biggest historical emitter so far, will not participate in this year’s COP, as was the case last time. However, following the midterm elections in the US, 20 US Congress members – all Democrats – are attending COP31 despite the country refusing to provide them official funding to do so, The Guardian reported.Where does India stand?In terms of annual carbon emissions, India comes right after the US and is the third-largest emitter. However, as a developing country and in line with negotiating blocs such as BASIC and the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), India has consistently maintained at COPs (including the last one) that historical emissions must be taken into account when countries decide on voluntary targets to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement, and that Common But Differentiated Responsibilities are crucial for the country’s development.India will approach COP31 with a “solution-oriented vision, bringing practical solutions for the Global South, with capacity building, knowledge sharing and geography-specific solutions at the core”, the Union Environment Ministry quoted Minister Bhupender Yadav as saying. India will work closely with G-77 and China, LMDC and BASIC, he added.Participants attend the technical session on assessing the socio-economic impacts of response measures for GST outcomes. Photo: UN Climate Change/ Kubilay Ciftci.Climate finance will be a key priority, with India seeking a COP31 decision to commence the Climate Finance Work Programme, he said, adding that finance was an obligation of developed countries under article 9.1 and must be “predictable, largely public and concessional, and should not add to the debt burden”. India, he said, will also press for mitigation and the global stocktake to remain party-driven, facilitative and non-punitive, respecting the nationally determined nature of NDCs and ruling out new top-down targets.India submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution for 2035 in April this year, more than a year late. Under this, India will reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level, achieve 60% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2035, and create a carbon sink of 3.5 to 4.0 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2035, compared with the 2005 level. Experts, however, have said that this is not ambitious enough and underestimates India’s potential for transformative clean energy growth. Contrasting policiesIndia also announced in June this year that it had successfully brought 21.76 million hectares under restoration, against its largest-ever Bonn Challenge pledge of 26 million hectares. Among the many programmes listed by India in this document are the Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam scheme and the increase in the number of Ramsar sites, wetlands designated as being of global importance, in the country to 101.India has said that more than 3.5 billion saplings have been planted under the Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam initiative, a figure that is independently unverifiable beyond government sources. Experts have told The Wire in the past that increasing the number of Ramsar sites makes little difference unless there is a change in their management or protection.Similarly, the ministry lists the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) and the Aravalli Green Wall schemes as steps forward. Under the Aravalli Green Wall scheme, approximately 6.45 million hectares of degraded land have been identified for restoration, it said. However, the ministry tried to change the definition of the Aravallis last year, a move that led to widespread protests in states including Rajasthan. The Supreme Court was forced to intervene and constitute a new committee to look into the issue. Also read: Loss And Damage Fund Approves $21.6 Million For Nepal For Losses Caused by Bhote Koshi Disaster“Forests and trees also remain central to India’s climate commitments,” the ministry iterated in its press release highlighting these schemes. But this But this does not seem to apply in some cases, such as with the Great Nicobar Island. The Union government is pushing ahead with projects worth Rs. 92,000 on the island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, ignoring dissent from local communities and warnings from scientists and civil society groups.Members of civil society demonstrate in the corridors. Photo: UN Climate Change/ Kubilay Ciftci.Up to one crore trees across 130 sq km of rainforest here could be cut, as per one estimate. Nearly 20,000 coral colonies in Galathea Bay will be affected too. While the government has claimed that sufficient mitigation measures (such as compensatory afforestation) are in place, none of these, in their current form, can compensate for the huge losses, experts in India have warned. Incidentally, at COP31, India and Germany will co-chair ministerial sessions on mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening climate action). India’s environment minister Bhupender Yadav and Germany’s environment minister Carsten Schneider will facilitate these discussions, the COP presidency had announced in late October.‘Highly insufficient’As per the Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific project that tracks government climate action and measures it against the Paris Agreement’s globally agreed aim of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, India’s overall climate action rating is “highly insufficient,” as of September 6 this year.“India is rapidly expanding renewable energy, but rising electricity demand and inadequate fossil fuel displacement continue to keep emissions on an upward trajectory, with coal and gas used to meet peak demand,” it noted.The Tracker also highlights India’s dependence on coal:“Coal continues to dominate India’s power sector, accounting for around 70% of electricity generation and increasing additional capacity, with 23 GW under construction and 107 GW in pre-construction as of 2026. The recent National Generation Adequacy Plan (2026–27 to 2035–36) signals a continued and structural reliance on coal for system reliability in India’s power sector, despite rapid renewable capacity additions, rather than outlining a pathway for its phased reduction. This reliance on coal was also observed during the recent energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran, where the immediate response has again included greater reliance on coal.”Source: Climate Action Tracker.Moreover, India’s 2035 NDC “does not require additional mitigation measures beyond current policies and allows the gap to a 1.5°C-compatible pathway to widen substantially”, it said.“Recent geopolitical disruption has reinforced short-term reliance on coal and gas, highlighting the energy security risks of continued fossil fuel dependence. To ensure a fair contribution to the global climate crisis, India’s emissions would need to stay below the emissions projected under current policies, and with international support, it could expedite faster reductions,” it noted.