New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav may not attend this year’s UN Conference of Parties (COP) that will begin at Baku, Azerbaijan, on November 11, per a report by the Press Trust of India. Per the report, India will also not have a pavilion at COP29. Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, will lead the Indian contingent at this year’s COP.
The Wire has reached out to the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Press Information Bureau for confirmation. This story will be updated as soon as a response is received.
Modi, Yadav may skip COP29
The UN conducts a Conference of Parties every year; COPs are the largest climate conferences where world leaders and representatives will engage in discussions and negotiations on taking action such as cutting down on carbon emissions to tackle the threat of global warming caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal. Groups including non-government organisations in the fields of climate and research, as well as climate and environmental activists also attend the event. This year’s COP, which is termed a “finance COP” because of many money-related matters that will be discussed and finalised, countries are required to reach an agreement on the New Collective Quantified Goal, an updated amount that developed nations must mobilise annually to support climate action in developing countries, beginning in 2025.
The PTI has quoted an unnamed official source as saying that Modi will not attend the World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit at COP29 scheduled for November 12-13. Yadav, meanwhile, will not attend because of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, per the report. The Print also quoted an unnamed senior official of the union environment ministry as saying that Yadav may not attend COP29 due to his “commitments around the Maharashtra elections”. Voting for the Maharashtra assembly elections begin on November 20, two days before COP29 comes to a close. The BJP has appointed Yadav as the party’s in-charge of elections, per the PTI.
Both Modi and Yadav attended COP28 held last year at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the High-Level Segment for the national statements of nations on December 1 at COP28 last year, Modi said that developing countries should be given their fair share of the global carbon budget for just and equitable development, as The Wire reported. It was also in this speech that Modi proposed to host the 33rd COP in 2028 in India.
Yadav delivered India’s national statement on December 9 at COP28. He highlighted the importance of equity and climate justice in global climate action, and said that this can be ensured only when developed countries “take the lead in ambitious climate action”. He also pointed out that a clear definition of climate finance is also crucial given its importance for least developed and developing countries, and ones that are most vulnerable to climate change. Yadav was at COP28 right from Day 1 (November 30, 2023), which witnessed the formal approval of the financial mechanisms of the Loss and Damage Fund, which aims to funds available for all countries, especially developing nations that bear the brunt of global warming-induced climate change in the form of extreme weather events. Yadav called the “operationalisation” of the Fund a “positive signal” and a “landmark decision”.
No India pavilion either
In the absence of Yadav, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh will lead India’s 19-member delegation and deliver India’s national statement at the high-level segment on November 18-19, reported PTI. This year at the COP, there will be no India pavilion either, per the report.
The Wire has reached out to the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the union government’s Press Information Bureau for confirmation on whether the Prime Minister and union environment minister will skip COP29 at Baku, as well as whether there will be no India pavilion this year. This story will be updated as soon as a response is received.
Per a report by The Print, the heads of several other countries including the US, China, Japan, Brazil, Australia and South Africa will also likely not be attending COP29.
