Current multilateral system failing to mitigate climate change: India

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said it is still possible to keep global warming within the 1.5-degree Celsius limit, but this would require developed countries to fulfil their commitments on financial and technological support.

New Delhi: India on Wednesday said the current multilateral system is failing to address global challenges like climate change and called for urgent reforms in global governance to ensure that equity, justice and action remain central to climate negotiations.

Addressing TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said it is still technically possible to keep global warming within the 1.5-degree Celsius limit, but this would require developed countries to fulfil their commitments on financial and technological support.

"Global challenges demand global solutions. The current multilateral system is failing to address trans-boundary issues like climate change. We need urgent, structural reforms to global governance that put equity, justice and action at the core of climate negotiations," Yadav said.

He added that the proposed $300 billion per year under the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) by 2035 is far below the required $1.3 trillion, leaving developing countries underfunded in their climate efforts.

Citing the 2024 UNEP Emissions Gap Report, he said: "It is still technically possible for us to stay on the 1.5-degree Celsius pathway, with solar energy, wind power and forests offering tremendous potential for significant and rapid reductions in emissions.

"However, to fully unlock this potential, we must act with urgency and developed countries should honour and fulfil their obligations, in particular, on means of implementation," the minister said.

He stressed that countries must strengthen their climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), by including measures that maximise social, economic and environmental benefits, with stronger international cooperation as the foundation.