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There has been significant commentary seeking suggestions on what reforms could look like during Conference of Parties (COP) negotiations, 30 years since the Convention of Parties was established, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell stated.
He was speaking while addressing the press in New Delhi during an official mission to India on July 21, 2026.
“Wider consultation is needed with Parties to get their inputs, and some have been forthcoming in sharing views as to how the process can be strengthened and how it needs to evolve,” he said.
Stiell was responding to questions about the process of climate negotiations during COPs which have faced allegations of being influenced by fossil fuel companies participating during the negations and vetoes that ignore consensus and calls to reform the process by banning fossil fuel companies.
Given that over the past few years, the conversation regarding science’s understanding of increasing climate impacts has changed, it is time for that discussion to take place, said Stiell.
He shared his views on what the COP process has achieved in terms of climate change over the years. Steill said the world would probably head for the 5 degrees Celsius rise compared to the 1.5 degrees average temperature before the Paris Agreement and that a lot of work needs to be done to reach the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal to have a liveable planet.
Last year, COP30 in Belem began the year of implementation and how to double down on the same, he said.
The Executive Secretary said the upcoming COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye, will see how implementation of the obligations take place. “It will be a demonstration of what implementation means, the technicalities involved and actions that are taken,” he said.
For India’s role, Stiell said more than engagement it will extend to understanding opportunities, challenges faced by India and sharing it with other parts of the world. It will also be an opportunity to share solutions and learn from other countries which share stances similar to those of India.
Stiell said COP31 will take place with ‘forcing factors’ such as accelerating climate impacts and effects of extreme heat in many parts of the world. “This is a particular challenge which we are not used to. It is quite remarkable to see the public discourse around the ongoing European heatwave in living rooms and the impacts of heat in parts of the world where it is not a norm,” he added.
He added that the accelerating and ongoing impact of climate change like wildfires, drought and the upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic will be something crucial to observe. “Heat is impacting every single community in each country and every continent.”
Stiell said unlike other COPs, where the key priority areas are set out, the upcoming event will be different in the sense that there are no big ticket negotiating items such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) seen in COP30 and climate finance in COP29. “This COP will focus more on the technical foundational areas that need to be covered as we shift to an era of implementation. We need to see how countries are addressing their NDCs and delivering on existing commitments,” Stiell added.
He said there will also be an increased focus on progress in the Action Agenda as 30 pledges investing trillions of dollars in grids and storage of energy and renewables were made in the Brazil COP. “The upcoming COP will address key bottlenecks that countries are experiencing and progress that will be the determinant of success,” Stiell said.
Stiell underlined that as every country declared unanimously at COP30, the global energy transition is now irreversible. Last year, over US$2 trillion was invested in clean energy.
“Globally, clean energy, infrastructure and services are the next industrial revolution. Nationally, they are the fast track for India to cement itself as a global economic giant. And it makes total economic sense to move even faster to clean energy – in India and around the world. Conflict has exacted a terrible human toll, and sent fossil fuel cost chaos reverberating through the global economy,” he said.
