PM Modi lays out India’s climate vision at COP28

Video Producer: Shireen Khan

Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday proposed to host the 33rd Conference of the Parties on Climate (COP33) in India in 2028 as he laid out his vision to fight the challenges of climate change. 

In his special address at the inauguration of the high-level segment of heads of state/heads of government at COP28 in Dubai, Modi stressed that the world does not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century. 

“A small section of mankind exploited nature indiscriminately. But humanity as a whole is paying its price, especially the residents of the Global South. This thinking that only my welfare will take the world towards darkness. Every person sitting in this hall, every head of state has come here with a huge responsibility. All of us have to fulfill our responsibilities. The whole world is watching us today, the future of this earth is watching us. We must succeed,” he said. 

Modi urged world leaders to be decisive, balanced, ambitious, and innovative. 

Reiterating India’s commitment to the UN Framework for Climate Change, Modi said, “…I also propose from this platform to host the COP-33 summit in India in 2028.”

Prime Minister Modi arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday for the World Climate Action Summit at COP28, where he delivered four speeches, held seven bilateral meetings, and attended two special initiatives on climate events during his 21-hour stay. 

Highlighting India’s achievement in fighting climate change, the prime minister said the nation of 1.4 billion has set before the world an example of the perfect balance of ecology and economy. 

“Despite India having 17% of the world’s population, our share in global carbon emissions is only less than 4%. India is one of the few economies in the world that is on track to meet the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets. We have already achieved the targets related to emissions intensity 11 years ago. We have achieved non-fossil fuel targets nine years ahead of schedule,” he said. 

“And India has not stopped at this. Our target is to reduce emissions intensity by 45% by 2030. We have decided that we will increase the share of non-fossil fuel to 50%. And, we will also continue to move towards the goal of net zero by 2070,” he added. 

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, COP28, is being held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. On the opening day of the summit, a fund dedicated to addressing the losses and damages resulting from the climate crisis was announced by summit president UAE with total pledges of $475 million. 

This has been a long-standing demand from developing and under-developed countries that have contributed the least to global warming but have suffered the most devastation caused by extreme weather events such as drought, floods, and rising seas. 

Hailing the historic breakthrough, Modi said, “I am hopeful that the review of global stocktaking in the coming 12 days will lead us to a safe and bright future. Yesterday, the decision taken to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund has further increased the hopes of all of us. I am confident that this COP28 Summit hosted by the UAE will reach new heights of success.”