India Tells Bonn Climate Talks No New Obligations Beyond Agreed Mandates

India has told the 64th session of UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies in Bonn that no new issues or obligations beyond agreed mandates should be added to UN climate negotiations, as civil society groups push for stronger UN-led action on transitioning away from fossil fuels. India also raised concern over declining climate finance from developed countries and called for the Article 9.1 work programme to receive dedicated agenda space.

The statement was made on June 8, 2026 during the opening plenary of the SB64 talks in Bonn and was read by Harkeerat Singh Randhawa, a Ministry of External Affairs official posted at the Consulate General of India in Berlin. Climate analysts in Bonn said India's position appeared to respond to growing civil society demands for COP31 to include pointed UN-led action on fossil fuel reduction, which gained momentum after the Santa Marta fossil fuel treaty meeting in Colombia in April 2026. That meeting, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands and attended by 57 countries, was described as the first international conference focused on transitioning away from coal, oil and gas. India did not participate in the Santa Marta meeting.

India reaffirmed its view that initiatives outside the UNFCCC process should remain voluntary and that the international climate agenda must focus on implementation of existing agreements. The statement called for Article 9.1, which obligates developed countries to provide financial resources to developing nations for mitigation and adaptation, to receive prominence and dedicated agenda space at COP31. India flagged concern over declining climate finance, including inadequate fund replenishment and a growing adaptation finance gap. Global climate finance reached $1.9 trillion in 2023 but remains far short of the estimated $6-7.4 trillion required annually to avoid the worst economic impacts of warming, with only 3.4 per cent directed toward adaptation.

India also reintroduced the principles of equity, historical responsibility and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities into the discourse, pushing back against criticism of India's continued coal use in its energy mix. India said developed countries must lead through accelerated emissions reductions and called for the Just Transition mechanism to be operationalised on the basis of equity and CBDR-RC. India also raised concerns about unilateral trade measures, pointing out that climate-linked trade actions could negatively affect the climate efforts of developing countries. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said on June 9 that decisions on including external initiatives in formal UN discourse rested with negotiating parties under the COP Presidency's leadership.

Key figure — 57 countries attended the Santa Marta fossil fuel transition meeting