India has pulled back its offer to host the Conference of the Parties (COP33) in 2028. We don’t know the reason, but in the present context, it is a wise one. For one, who cares about the Global South, except the Glocal South? The Loss and Damage Fund, intended for the Global South to recover from the ravages of climate change, has barely taken off, as the developed world has not contributed enough funds.
Second, the UNFCCC has significantly weakened after the US left, although this body is all we have. Hosting a UNFCCC negotiation without key polluters won’t help the developing world; it is a waste.
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Third, the West Asia war is a live lab for energy security and its impact on India. Despite India’s strides in renewables and the government’s efforts to reduce the current pain, the most vulnerable are still suffering. Who will pay India for its losses from a war it has nothing to do with? Who will pay countries for the emissions and environmental impact beyond the warring nations that the war is sure to have in the coming years?
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Fourth, guesstimates are that the war has crossed the combined annual emissions of 84 countries. So why host a semi-functional COP when geopolitics snubs climate?
India should stay focussed on holistic, green, low-carbon development at home, and participate in the UNFCCC as part of the global community. The last decade of climate negotiations has shown us it is important to keep up a good negotiation, but we have only ourselves to fight the problem at home.
(The writer is the founder and director of Chintan Environmental Research and Action Groups)
