New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- At the ongoing UN climate conference COP31 in Turkiye's Antalya, India on Tuesday stressed that equity has become particularly urgent to ensure that no one is left behind in the collective effort to address climate change.

The country has also underscored that just transition and meeting adaptation needs remain significant challenges, particularly for the Global South, where these are closely intertwined with the challenge of development itself.

India's opening statement at the conference was made by Narendra Bhooshan, secretary with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Bhooshan expressed gratitude to Turkiye and Australia for their leadership of COP31.

He commended all Parties and negotiating groups for their efforts towards strengthening climate multilateralism and stated that India aligns itself with the statements made by G77 and China, LMDC, and BASIC.

This year's Conference of the Parties (COP), the world's premier annual climate change summit, opened on Monday and is scheduled to go on till November 20.

In the statement, India spoke about climate finance as well, saying public finance from developed countries remains central to

catalysing climate action in developing

countries and strengthening adaptation finance flows to address their vulnerabilities.

Moreover, India underscored the fundamental importance of Article 9.1 of the 2015

Paris Agreement, which establishes the developed countries' obligation to provide

financial resources to developing countries.

India has also reaffirmed its commitment to climate multilateralism and the principles of equity and 'Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)', calling for a fair, equitable, and ambitious outcome at COP31.

Welcoming the Presidency's vision of a 'COP of Implementation', guided by Dialogue, Consensus and Action, India noted that dialogue builds trust, consensus ensures collective ownership of outcomes, and action translates commitments into progress on the ground.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.