, Columnist
India Has the World’s Fate in Its Hands
Once aloof in environmental debates, the emerging economy is striving to make them work in its favor.
Kicking climate goals.
Photographer: Aparna Jayakumar/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Once upon the time, India looked upon international climate meetings with something akin to distaste.
Indira Gandhi played the role of malcontent at the 1972 Stockholm conference that kicked off modern environmental diplomacy, characterizing such concerns as a luxury for rich countries that poorer nations couldn’t afford to indulge. In 2009, then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh waited until the last minute before deciding to even attend the Copenhagen UN climate summit — and then faced criticism from the opposition BJP for doing so.