Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav addressed the High-Level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) at UNFCCC CoP30 in Belem, Brazil on November 17, 2025. The session was themed "Protecting Big Cats, Protecting Climate and Biodiversity" and was also graced by Nepal's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Dr. Madan Prasad Pariyar. Yadav called for renewed global cooperation to protect big cat species and their habitats as part of integrated climate and biodiversity action. He described big cats as apex predators, regulators of ecological balance, and sentinels of ecosystem health, noting that where they thrive forests are healthier, grasslands regenerate, water systems function, and carbon is stored efficiently in living landscapes. Highlighting "Big Cat Landscapes" as "Nature-Based Climate Solutions", the Minister urged member nations to place nature-based climate action at the centre of future Nationally Determined Contributions, stating that wildlife conservation is climate action in its most natural form. He informed the gathering that India is home to five of the world's seven big cat species and has doubled its tiger population ahead of the target timeline, while its Asiatic lion population continues to grow. The IBCA, a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rooted in the philosophy "One Earth, One World, One Future", currently has 17 formally associated countries and over 30 more expressing willingness to join. Yadav announced that the Government of India will host a Global Big Cats Summit in New Delhi in 2026, inviting all big-cat-range countries to share experiences and strategies.