The South Asian Regional Parliamentary Forum-India Chapter (SARPF) convened a high-level discussion on COP30, Net Zero, and India’s Climate Goals: New Challenges and Opportunities on 18th August 2025, New Delhi. The discussion focused on the implications of the emerging global politics on COP30 negotiations and India’s climate change and Net Zero goals. The monsoon session steering committee meeting brought together fifteen multi-party Members of Parliament of India with leading climate change policy experts, Dr Ritu Mathur (Senior Fellow and Director, TERI) and Dr Chandra Bhushan (President and CEO, IFOREST). The steering committee meeting was chaired by Hon. MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, Chairperson of the SARPF steering committee. The session was moderated by Dr Mukul Sharam, Co-Director, SARPF.  The meeting ended with a joint statement by the SARPF steering group of MPs that suggests the way forward for India at COP30 and its domestic climate and Net Zero policies.

Experts acknowledged the impact of U.S. withdrawal but reiterated that climate action is no longer an obligation but an economic opportunity now. They called for India to reaffirm its faith in multilateralism and support Brazil’s efforts in the upcoming Belém COP30. They suggested that, as the U.S. retreats to the conventional economy, India could leverage bilateral or regional collaborations such as BRICS and BASIC to scale climate action and attract climate finance.

Parliamentarians proposed that organisations like SARPF must engage in consensus-building amongst major political  parties. They collectively agreed to work with their party leaders to advance progressive climate action reforms.