In a notable development, India has formally withdrawn its bid to host the 33rd UN Climate Change Conference (COP33), scheduled for 2028. The development was recently confirmed by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in the ministry’s weekly briefing today.
Following the announcement of India’s decision to withdraw its bid of hosting the COP 33 summit, Jaiswal maintained that while the hosting bid is off the table, the nation’s commitment to its ‘green agenda’ and Paris Agreement targets remains absolute.
The withdrawal comes nearly two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially proposed hosting the high-profile summit during his address at COP28 in Dubai.
As per a recent Reuters report, the move is being viewed by analysts as a strategic pivot from New Delhi toward prioritising immediate domestic energy concerns over undertaking a massive global climate presidency.
Why did India withdraw? ‘Several issues’ at play says MEA
The development was recently confirmed by MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “Yes, India has withdrawn. There are several issues that were taken into account,” Jaiswal told reporters when asked about India’s reason for withdrawal.
Responding to questions posed by reporters, Jaiswal remained adamant New Delhi’s decision to withdraw from hosting a climate event does not in any way reflect India’s ambition to work towards fostering a better sense of climate justice.
“India remains fully committed to meeting its climate change commitments. We were one of the G20 countries which has fully met its Paris commitments,” Jaiswal stated.
Leadership beyond hosting: The ISA & G20 track record
As a part of his larger response, the MEA underscored that India’s climate leadership is increasingly defined by delivering results on a fast tracked basis and not just hosting meetings.
As Per Jaiswal,India is positioning itself as the voice of the Global South through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
India’s Climate Performance Dashboard:
- Paris Commitments: India remains one of the few G20 nations on track to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) well ahead of the 2030 deadline.
- Renewable Capacity: The government continues to aggressively scale its non-fossil fuel power capacity, aiming for 500 GW by 2030.
While the MEA cited ‘several issues,’ media reports suggest alternative reasons for the nation’s withdrawal. Hosting a COP summit involves multi-billion dollar expenditures and a year-long diplomatic blitz that can strain administrative bandwidth.
Notably, MEA’s decision also comes after some of the previous COP summits had become the center of viral public backlash as netizens flagged that the amount of carbon footprint created by politicians taking jets to discuss climate change kind of offsets the impact of the whole summit.