India must be alert to changing climate politics

The next COP will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and politics is bound to be at the centre stage. There are several reasons for this. The initial concern is operationalizing the loss and damage fund, including mandatory/assessed contributors and its obvious political overtones and implications. A bye for oil and gas is also possible, given that COP28 is being hosted in a significant oil-producing country which will put more pressure on coal. In Glasgow, India was finger-pointed for insisting on “phase down” and not "phase out" of coal even though "phase down" was the exact phrase used by China and the US in their bilateral statement issued on the sidelines of the COP26, writes Mr Manjeev Singh Puri, Distinguished Fellow, TERI.