India votes against U.N. draft resolution on climate change

What is the news?

India has voted against a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) linking climate to security.

The resolution was sponsored by Ireland and Niger, and it did not pass, with 12 UNSC members voting for it, India and Russia voting against it and China abstaining.

Why India voted against the draft resolution?

As per India, the resolution was an attempt to shift climate talks from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the Security Council and a step backward for collective action on the issue.

What did India say regarding the resolution?

The attempt to discuss climate action and climate justice issues at the UNSC was motivated by a desire to evade responsibility in the appropriate forum.

The draft resolution, would undermine progress made at Glasgow, where the latest round of talks under the UNFCCC, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Also, the reason countries were attempting to bring climate talks to the Security Council was that decisions could be taken without consensus or the involvement of most developing countries.

Moreover, if the Security Council indeed takes over the responsibility on this issue, a few states will then have a free hand in deciding on all climate-related issues. This is clearly neither desirable nor acceptable.

Lastly, India stated that viewing conflicts through the prism of climate change was misleading and an oversimplification that could worsen conflicts rather than resolving them.

Source: This post is based on the article “India votes against U.N. draft resolution on climate change” published in The Hindu on 14^th Dec 2021.