20 November 2025
Forbes
Op-eds
It is that time of the year again, when COP Chatter and COP Chaos are all around us. With delegates from nearly 200 countries - ministers, negotiators, global giants, smaller nations, youth activists, philanthropists, multilaterals, all converging, trading goals and ideas in Belem - the city of samba, football and the amazon frontier. I, myself have been a part of this journey for years now, witnessing the crowded COP pavilions, feeling the buzz in the hallways, the urgency in-side meetings and the optimism in the quick coffee breaks, all under one roof, the energy is infectious.
But while the buzz is for real, so is the fatigue, and every year it boils down to the same big question, will this COP deliver, or it is just about negotiations and no action?
As I reflect back, it has been 33 years since the first COP, and this year, COP30, marks the tenth edition since the Paris Agreement, a decade of negotiations, national targets, and NDCs. In this last decade, we have experienced both highs and lows, COP’s that have moved the needle and others that were disappointing. In my view, the COP26 in Glasgow with its massive attendance and announcements on the Glasgow Climate Pact, completion of Paris Agreement Rulebook, and India’s net zero commitment by 2070 was the last COP that delivered both in size and scale. Since then, the momentum has slowed, and the subsequent COPs have failed to translate declarations into measurable deliveries.
When talking about the ongoing COP30, it too has been a symptom of the current strained geopolitical systems and diplomacy. While the host nation has made its mark by establishing the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, India, too has reaffirmed its commitment to equity and climate justice, advocating for a strong outcome on technology implementation programme and global goal on adaptation, further asking for a clear and universally agreed definition on climate finance and scaled up public finance flows for Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. While there have been new voices on the table, there has been a clear lack in delivery and follow ups from the past announcements.
As we move ahead, to another season of climate championing and political leadership in 2026, we must realise that words and intentions are no longer enough. It is time we move beyond the portfolio of promises and pledges to accountability, making COP a delivery Platform. As we rethink and rebuild the ideal COP systems, it should focus on 5 Big structural changes.
To start with, it should focus on getting NDCs and their implementation on the agenda. Over 90% of the countries had failed to submit their new revised NDCs by the February deadline. In fact, just last month in October, only about some 60 countries had put forward new NDCs, a clear indication of how NDCs were technically missing from the agenda this year. As we reimagine an ideal COP, it will not only require submission of updated NDCs but resourcing, with a focus on various sectoral roadmaps and implementation plans (starting from financing plans and technology plans to developing a comprehensive list of domestic policy enablers), to establishing a global NDC delivery ledger updated quarterly, to integrating an independent verification mechanism along with an ”early warning mechanism” for nations falling behind. The new structure must also focus on prioritizing technical assistance and capacity building to operationalize them.
Secondly, an ideal COP system should focus on delivering on expectations from developing countries with accelerated commitments from the Developed nations - Small Island States, LDCs and other developing nations have been playing a critical moral role, reminding the developed rich nations of their responsibilities and obligations. While the Loss and Damage fund agreed upon in COP27 and the New Climate Finance Goal of USD 300 Billion annually for developing countries have been a watershed for climate justice, it is far too little support to the poor world. An Ideal COP should look at institutionalizing predictable and clear flows, focused on minimum annual capital, diversified funding sources and transparency in allocation, not betraying the "Poor World”.
Thirdly, there is clear need to acknowledge the gap between realism and summit goals. Over the years various announcements, pledges and targets have been announced at COP platforms, covering a wide range of subjects starting from tripling renewables to nature investments to adopting a rulebook for international carbon markets to showcasing green products. While there have been summit goals, the recent UN data highlights a clear-chronic gap between the headlines and financial deployment at scale. In fact, adaptation and mitigation funding is far below needs, with developed nations providing just USD 26 billion in international adaptation finance to developing nations, only 12% of the USD 310 billion annual requirement. For an ideal COP structure, it must realise the gap between summit goals and real delivery, helping prepare citizens and a nation that is capable of closing the gap in implementation.
The fourth important feature for an ideal COP is fostering a People Centred Politics. From Amazon’s indigenous communities to the women solar technicians in Gujarat, it is about putting people and livelihoods at the centre of climate action, energy transition and politics. Women and children are 14 times more likely to die and get affected by extreme weather disasters in comparison to men. In fact, UN highlights that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. As we look at rebuilding systems, we should look at integrating people, livelihoods, and social equity into the overarching metrics of our COP systems.
Lastly, and the most important new feature for an Ideal COP system is a Governance Reboot. Today, the world suffers through an ever-changing global geopolitics and global governance, with the current multilateral system collapsing and entering the era of irrelevance and fractured solutions. The US-China rivalry, today, is not only threatening emission targets and supply chains but also institutional frameworks. While the current UNFCCC structure is essential, delivering diplomacy and negotiations, it struggles with implementation. It is time the Ideal COP structure advocates for an institutional shift, a new delivery architecture like a UN Climate Change Council built for 2025, a new - transparent climate delivery authority, tracking pledges, actions, finances and milestones year on year; auditing implementation; and integrating the private sector, civil society, philanthropy and other sub-national actors for a consistent delivery.
Today, I see the world through two lenses, one that is marching ahead, accelerating its renewable targets, adding gigawatts on the ground and collaborating over new emerging shared resources/ technologies, and the other side, where the world is fragile, struggling through heatwaves, pollution, floods and lack of finances. And, as we reconvene for another year of negotiations in 2026, it is important to learn from our mistakes, take a leap, and reimagine and rebuild our current systems.
