Indian envoy said there should be no confusion over India’s determination to fight climate change (File)
United Nations:
India on Monday voted against a draft UN Security Council resolution linking climate change to global security concerns, arguing the move seeks to undermine the hard-won consensus reached at the recently concluded Glasgow summit.
“India is unmatched when it comes to climate action and climate justice, but the Security Council is not a place to discuss both issues. In fact, the effort to do so seems motivated by a desire to evade responsibility in the right forum and the attention of the world from an unwillingness to deliver where it is needed,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti.
“Today’s UN Security Council resolution seeks to undermine the hard-won consensus we reached in Glasgow. This resolution would only sow the seeds of discord among the wider UN membership,” he told UN Security Council members , explaining the country’s decision to oppose a draft resolution in this powerful 15-member United Nations body.
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries accepted a new climate deal after the COP26 summit in Glasgow last month, recognizing India’s intervention for the world to “phase out” rather than “phase out” fossil fuels.
The draft resolution, tabled jointly by Niger and Ireland, called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “integrate climate-related security risks as a central component of comprehensive conflict prevention strategies”. The resolution was rejected by Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Mr Tirumurti voted against the resolution saying there should be no confusion about India’s determination to fight climate change.
“We will always support real climate action and serious climate justice. We will always champion the interests of developing countries, including Africa and the Sahel region. And we will do that in the right place – the UNFCCC,” he said.
The resolution, he claimed, sends the wrong signal to developing countries that instead of allaying their concerns and holding developed countries accountable for meeting their obligations under the UNFCCC, “we are prepared to be divided and sidetracked.” under the guise of security. This resolution is a step backwards from our collective determination to fight climate change.”
It wants to transfer that responsibility to a body that does not work by consensus nor reflect the interests of developing countries, he added.
“India had no choice but to vote against the resolution,” he said.
Climate change decisions should be made by the wider international community represented in the UNFCCC and instead by the Security Council, he said.
“Ironically, many of the members of the UN Security Council are the main drivers of climate change due to historic emissions. If the Security Council does indeed take over responsibility on this issue, a few states will have a free hand in deciding on all climate-related issues. is clearly neither desirable nor acceptable,” said the senior Indian diplomat.
“We recognize that climate change has impacted people’s lives and may have even exacerbated conflict in the Sahel and other parts of Africa. India remains committed to peace, security and development in Africa and the Sahel region, both bilaterally and in the UN,” he said.
“Many projects in those regions testify to our sincerity. But looking at conflicts through the prism of climate change is misleading. Oversimplifying conflict causes will not help resolve them; worse, it can be misleading. This is why India support provided a concept exclusively focused on the Sahel, but the sponsors did not consider this for the most well-known reasons,” he said.
He also claimed that developed countries must provide $1 trillion in climate finance at the earliest, saying it is imperative that climate finance is followed with the same rigor as climate mitigation.
“Affordable access to climate finance is critical to moving forward decisively. Developed countries must provide $1 trillion in climate finance at the earliest,” he said.
It is imperative that climate finance is followed with the same zeal as climate mitigation and reality, he said, adding that developed countries have failed to deliver on their promise.
“This is especially important to recognize, as today’s attempt to link climate and security really addresses the lack of progress on critical issues under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process. cover up,” he said.
The Indian envoy also expressed concern at the way this issue was presented to the Security Council.
“Over the past nearly three decades, all member states have collectively negotiated with consensus a comprehensive and equitable architecture to combat every aspect of climate change; while arriving at a far-reaching consensus decision, we have sought to consider each other’s interests and specific national circumstances. This extensive process has in fact been carried out under the UN-led UNFCCC with the participation of all member states,” he said.
The UNFCCC in turn has been informed about the priorities of its members. It addresses the immediate needs of the developer as well as the obligations of the evolved. It strikes a balance between mitigation, adaptation, financing, technology transfer, capacity building, etc. In fact, it takes a holistic view of fighting climate change that is fair and fair, he said.
“We must therefore ask ourselves: what can we collectively do under this draft resolution that we cannot achieve under the UNFCCC process? Why is a UN Security Council resolution needed to take action on climate change if we are there? committed to concrete climate action under the UNFCCC?” he said.
He added that the honest answer is that this resolution is not really required, except to bring climate change under the purview of the Security Council, and the reason for that is that decisions can now be made without the involvement of most developing countries and without recognizing consensus. .
“And all this can be done in the name of preserving international peace and security,” he said.
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