Context:

• The message from COP30 (UN Climate Change Conference held in Belém, Brazil) is unequivocal: the world has overshot the 1.5°C warming threshold, and the remaining window for effective climate action is rapidly closing.
• The Paris Agreement, while norm-setting, has failed to generate the scale of ambition, finance, and collective action required—especially for climate-vulnerable regions.
• In this backdrop, there is a growing demand for a Global South–led climate multilateralism, with South Asia emerging as a critical region for cooperative climate action.

Why South Asia Needs a Regional Climate Approach?

• By 2050, South Asia could suffer losses of nearly 1.8% of annual GDP due to extreme heat, sea-level rise, floods and droughts.
• The region also faces irreversible losses to lives, livelihoods, ecosystems, and cultural traditions.
• Interconnected ecosystems (Himalayas, monsoons, river basins, coastal systems) make unilateral action insufficient.
• Therefore, collective regional action offers scale, efficiency, and resilience.

Proposal - South Asian Climate Cooperation Council (SACCC):

• A dedicated regional institutional mechanism to enable mutually beneficial climate action.
• Inspired by precedents of crisis-led regional cooperation -
  • Quad (post-2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami)
  • Cooperation during Nepal earthquake and Maldives water crisis
• Past failures of SAARC-style institutions should not deter innovation in climate governance.

Existing Foundation - Energy Cooperation:

• 2014 SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation laid groundwork for cross-border electricity trade.
• Operational Nepal–India–Bangladesh trilateral power transaction is a testimony of this agreement.
• The One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) provides scope for regional renewable energy pooling among India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
• This energy cooperation demonstrates that functional regionalism is possible.

Three Pillars of the Proposed SACCC:

• Regional knowledge and innovation hub:
  • Network of co-managed centres across South Asia leveraging complementary strengths -
    • Maldives: Coastal climate resilience, coral restoration, fisheries, maritime renewables.
    • Sri Lanka: 30×30 conservation target; Life to Our Mangroves promotes nature-based solutions.
    • Bhutan: Gelephu Mindful City depicts sustainable and mindful urbanisation.
    • India: Mission LiFE promotes behavioural change; technical expertise in renewable energy and grid integration.
  • Focus areas: Adaptation, mitigation, nature-based solutions, sustainable urban transitions.
• South Asia green climate finance facility:
  • Climate action hinges on accessible and predictable finance.
  • A regional facility could -
    • Pool domestic and international resources
    • Enhance absorptive capacity for global climate funds
    • Build a pipeline of bankable, high-priority projects
  • In collaboration with ADB, World Bank, Green Climate Fund, it could -
    • Issue green bonds
    • Provide risk-mitigation instruments
    • Structure regional project portfolios to crowd in private climate investment
  • This could address chronic climate finance gaps in the Global South.
• Scientific commission for South Asia:
  • An independent, evidence-based body to -
    • Define the type, scale, and speed of climate action required
    • Identify low-cost, high-impact interventions
    • Promote R&D and data-sharing
    • Leverage institutional excellence across countries
  • This will be similar in spirit to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but region-specific and action-oriented.

Key Challenges and Way Forward:

• Political distrust and weak regional institutions: Build trust through pilot projects and crisis-response cooperation.
• Uneven technical and financial capacities: Align SACCC goals with SDGs, NDCs, and Loss & Damage mechanisms.
• Fragmented data and scientific coordination: Decouple climate cooperation from geopolitical rivalries. Ensure inclusive Global South leadership in climate governance.
• Risk of duplication with global institutions: Begin with functional cooperation (energy, disasters, finance) rather than grand treaties.

Conclusion:

• South Asia stands at a climate crossroads. With shared vulnerabilities, interlinked ecosystems, and mounting economic risks, regional climate multilateralism is no longer optional but essential.
• A homegrown initiative like the SACCC—anchored in knowledge-sharing, climate finance, and scientific guidance—can transform climate vulnerability into collective resilience.
• Such cooperation can not only advance climate security but also foster peaceful coexistence and sustainable prosperity in one of the world’s most climate-exposed regions.