Voices of Global South must form the basis of future climate debate

TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY A HUGE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI: India's environment minister called for restoring trust in global climate negotiations during talks with the UN climate chief on Saturday, amid growing tensions over climate finance and unprecedented global temperature records.

Bhupender Yadav emphasised the critical importance of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building during his meeting with UN Climate chief Simon Stiell, stressing that these elements are "core to enable climate action by developing countries".

"Voices of the Global South should form the basis of ongoing and future climate discourse," Yadav wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the meeting.

The high-level talks come as global temperatures continue to shatter records, with January 2025 marking the eighteenth month out of nineteen above the crucial 1.5°C warming threshold. Average surface temperatures reached 13.23°C last month, soaring 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels.

They also follow close after US President Donald Trump, following his return to office, ordered America's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and pledged to roll back key climate policies. The move by the world's second-largest emitter and historically largest polluter threatens to undermine what has become, especially over the past four years, a unified global response to the climate crisis.