During the Baku High-Level Dialogue on Adaptation at COP30, India cautioned that the global adaptation financial gap is growing and asked nations to scale predictable, grant-based, and concessional support.

As the effects of climate change worsen, developing countries will have to pay more, according to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. He acknowledged India’s expertise with adaptation funding and the difficulties it faces, and he praised the COP30 presidency for calling the meeting. According to the 2025 Adaptation Gap Report, developing nations would require $310 billion to $365 billion annually by 2035, according to Yadav. The current flows are approximately $26 billion. He claimed that the Glasgow commitment to quadruple public adaptation funding to $40 billion by 2025 might not be fulfilled.

According to him, achieving the $1.3 trillion goal in the Baku to Belém Roadmap requires a worldwide team effort. He emphasised that in order to prevent fragile economies from taking on further debt, climate finance needs to go towards grants.

According to Yadav, India has increased domestic investment despite global deficits. Between 2016–17 and 2022–23, spending on adaptation increased by 150 per cent as a percentage of GDP.

He claimed that through institutional capacity building and readiness initiatives, India had improved access to climate finance. He also mentioned the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change and the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture. These initiatives promote improved water use efficiency, soil restoration, and climate-resilient crops. According to Yadav, obtaining multilateral climate funds presents many developing nations with drawn-out and complicated processes. He listed several factors that discourage private financing, including high transaction costs, delays, a lack of risk-sharing tools, and inadequate institutional capacity.

He called on nations to overcome these structural obstacles. He went on to say that adaptation needs to remain gender-responsive, country-driven, and based on traditional knowledge and science.

According to Yadav, community-led initiatives in agriculture, water management, and ecosystem restoration provide impressive outcomes but are still modest because of a lack of funding. According to him, the Global Goal on Adaptation’s indicators should continue to be optional, non-prescriptive, and context-sensitive.

He demanded improved readiness support and more robust National Adaptation Plans. According to him, countries will be better able to scale solutions and incorporate risk into planning if transaction costs are reduced. According to Yadav, the Paris Agreement’s adaptation and mitigation components continue to be complementary. In order to evaluate viability and capacity requirements, he advocated a change from expert-driven discussions to organised party-driven interaction.

According to him, actual improvements in the resilience of economies and communities would serve as a barometer for global ambition. He pointed out that in order to achieve that objective, climate funding needs to grow in both quantity and quality.

In closing, Yadav reiterated India’s dedication to climate-resilient growth and urged greater unity to enable developing nations to obtain climate finance at the rate necessary for adaptation.