At COP30, India’s premier research institute urges sweeping reforms to strengthen the UN climate system amid waning multilateral credibility

The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) has called for a structural overhaul of the global climate governance system, warning that the credibility and effectiveness of multilateral climate action are under strain. Unveiling its new Act4Earth COP Compass publication, “Strengthening Multilateralism on the Road to COP33 and Beyond,” at COP30 in Belém, Teri argued that restoring trust, equity, and scientific integrity within the UN climate architecture has become a defining challenge of this decade.

The policy brief, authored by Abhilash Kolekar, Shailly Kedia, and Ishita Srivastava, and reviewed by India’s former principal climate negotiator R.R. Rashmi contends that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must evolve beyond its procedural rigidity and fragmented structure if it is to deliver results aligned with the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals.

Multilateralism Under Stress
Speaking at a high-level session titled “Beyond 2025: A New Climate Multilateralism?” In the COP30 Blue Zone, Shailly Kedia, Director and Senior Fellow at Teri, said the international climate system faces a moment of reckoning. “A new multilateralism is not about dismantling what exists it is about reinforcing global cooperation in line with what climate science demands,” she said, urging the creation of institutional mechanisms to protect global commons such as the high seas and the Central Arctic Ocean.

Mr R.R. Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow at Teri, cautioned that the world is witnessing “growing attempts to weaken or disrupt” the multilateral process. “The system today faces considerable stress and even existential threat,” he said, calling for renewed commitment to equity, transparency, and the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Institutional Reform the Need of the Hour
Teri’s policy paper identifies five structural dimensions—scope, membership, decision-making, functions, and form—as the foundation for reform. It proposes expanding the UNFCCC’s mandate to integrate justice, sectoral priorities, and global commons within a unified framework; adopting voting rules and equity metrics to balance decision-making; and strengthening compliance through predictable finance and accountability mechanisms.
The brief also suggests repurposing the UN Trusteeship Council into a body for the stewardship of global commons and creating an inter-conventions science coordination platform to align climate action with biodiversity and development goals.

Leadership, Trust, And Accountability
The discussion saw international experts underline the political and institutional deficit in the current climate process. Ethan Spaner, International Policy Senior Adviser at The Climate Reality Project, said COP presidencies have a unique opportunity to rebuild confidence in multilateralism by aligning political ambition with scientific necessity. “Leadership that sidelines fossil fuel interests and prioritises science-based solutions can restore faith in the COP as the world’s most vital multilateral forum,” he said.

Echoing this view, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, Director of Intergovernmental Support and Collective Progress at the UNFCCC, said that “multilateralism is dynamic, not static,” and must evolve into a system that connects “global decisions with local realities.”

Towards COP33 And A New Climate Compact
Lead author Abhilash Kolekar said the upcoming COP33 in 2028, coinciding with the second Global Stocktake, could serve as a turning point for reform. “Strengthening multilateral climate governance through timely and equitable change is not merely desirable—it is essential,” he said, adding that failure to act risks eroding trust in the very system designed to coordinate global response to climate change.

The discussion, anchored in the Indian ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”), concluded with a call to embed justice and inclusivity at the core of future negotiations. The paper argues that only a reformed, science-driven, and equity-centred multilateral framework can bridge the widening ambition and implementation gaps that threaten global climate goals.

The Act4Earth Initiative
Teri’s Act4Earth initiative, announced at the 21st World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), seeks to amplify Global South perspectives and promote knowledge-based engagement on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It comprises two components—the COP Compass, which advances equitable multilateral mechanisms for climate governance, and the SDG Charter, which aims to embed sustainability within policy frameworks.