New Delhi: India is reported to have missed a key diplomatic gathering in London to discuss climate change. Being the third biggest emitter in the world, India's absence in the conference that was attended by 50 other invited countries, is seen as a diplomatic failure.
India is said to be the only country that missed the two-day ministerial meeting in London which was hosted by the incoming president of the COP26 United Nations talks, a report published by Bloomberg quoting people who attended the summit who declined to be named.
The current COP26 President Alok Sharma viewed that the summit, which was to lay the groundwork for a successful COP26 that has been scheduled to happen in three months, was the last chance to ensure the global temperature is maintained under 1.5 degrees Celsius as per the Paris Agreement.
The London meeting was considered to be a wider group of countries on the heels of the G-20 to incorporate global emitters' cooperation to meet the target. COP26 President's office is said to have had the confirmation of India's participation but it did not turn out.
India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has reportedly said the Union government had decided not to take part in the summit in person since there had India's views already made at the G-20 in Naples and the technical issues prevented it to turn on to the virtual summit.
While the COP presidency is said to have been exerting pressure on India and China to cut its emission as envisaged, the Group of Seven nations committed to eliminating their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.