Action on Draft resolution on Security in the Context of Climate Change

(moved jointly by Niger and Ireland)

[13 December 2021; 1000 hrs]

Explanation of Vote by Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

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Mr. President,

I take the floor to submit India’s Explanation of Vote. India is second to none when it comes to climate action and climate justice. But the UN Security Council is not the place to discuss either issue. In fact, the attempt to do so appears to be motivated by a desire to evade responsibility in the appropriate forum and divert the world’s attention from an unwillingness to deliver where it counts.

2. In line with our tradition of living in harmony with nature, Prime Minister Modi had announced last month in Glasgow an ambitious climate action vision in the form of five nectar elements, PANCHAMRIT:

First -  India will take its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
Second-  India will meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable

energy by 2030.

Third-  India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030.

Fourth-  By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 percent.

And fifth-  by the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero.

3. India now ranks 4th in the world in installed renewable energy capacity. India's non-fossil fuel energy has increased by more than 25% in the last 7 years and has reached 40% of our energy mix. Along with this, India has also given institutional solutions to build cooperation at the international level. We initiated the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.  These are noteworthy initiatives that will make a real difference. The world is also developing awareness that lifestyle change plays a critical role.  My Prime Minister has called for LIFE: Lifestyle For Environment (LIFE) as a mass movement.

4.       Mr. President, today India may be moving forward on the subject of climate change with great courage and high ambition. But India also understands the challenges of fellow developing countries, shares them fully, and will continue to voice their concerns and expectations. The international community, particularly the developing and least developed countries and SIDS have striven for the last two decades under the UNFCCC process to make “common but differentiated responsibilities” a basic principle for global climate action.  This is at the heart of climate justice.

5.          To move forward decisively, affordable access to climate finance and technologies has become critical. Developed countries must provide climate finance of $1 trillion at the earliest. It is necessary that climate finance be tracked with the same diligence as climate mitigation.  And the reality, Mr. President, is that the developed countries have fallen well short of their promises.  This is particularly important to recognize because today’s attempt to link climate with security really seeks to obfuscate lack of progress on critical issues under the UNFCCC process.

6. We are also concerned, Mr. President, on the manner in which this issue has been brought before the Council. Over the last nearly three decades, all Member States have negotiated collectively and with consensus an elaborate and equitable architecture to combat every aspect of climate change.  While arriving at far-reaching consensual decisions, we have tried to accommodate each other’s interests and specific national circumstances. This comprehensive process has, in fact, been done under the UN-led UNFCCC with participation of all Member States.   The UNFCCC has been, in turn, informed by members’ priorities.  It addresses both the immediate needs of the developing and the commitments of the developed. It seeks a balance between mitigation, adaptation, financing, technology transfer, capacity building, etc.  In effect, it takes a holistic view of combatting climate change which is equitable and fair.

7. We, therefore, need to ask ourselves what is it that we can collectively do under this resolution which we cannot achieve under the UNFCCC process?  Why is it that one needs a UN Security Council resolution to take action on climate change when we have commitment made under UNFCCC towards concrete climate action?  The honest answer is that there is no real requirement for this resolution, except for the purpose of bringing climate change under the ambit of the Security Council.  And the reason for that is now decisions can then be taken without involvement of most developing countries and without recognizing consensus.  And all this can be done in the name of preserving international peace and security.

8. So, let us be clear about the issues today.  Climate change decisions are sought to be taken out of the wider international community represented in the UNFCCC and given instead to the Security Council.  Ironically, many of the UNSC members are the main contributors of climate change due to historical emissions.  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.

Mr. President,

9. We recognize the fact that climate change has impacted the lives of people and may have even exacerbated conflicts in Sahel and other parts of Africa. India remains committed to peace, security and development in Africa and the Sahel region, both bilaterally and in the UN.  Many projects in those geographies testify to our sincerity.   But viewing conflicts through the prism of climate change is misleading.  Over-simplification of causes of conflict will not help in resolving them; worse, it can be misleading.  This is the reason India supported a draft focusing exclusively on the Sahel.  But this was not considered by the sponsors for reasons best known to them.

10. Today’s draft UNSC Resolution attempts to undermine the hard-won consensus which we reached in Glasgow.  This draft resolution would only sow the seeds of discord among the larger UN membership. It sends a wrong message to the developing countries that instead of addressing their concerns and holding developed countries responsible for meeting their commitments under the UNFCCC, we are willing to be divided and side-tracked under the guise of security. This draft resolution is a step backward from our collective resolve to combat climate change.  It seeks to hand over that responsibility to a body which neither works through consensus nor is reflective of the interests of the developing countries. India had no option but to vote against.

Mr. President,

11. Let me state in conclusion that there should be no confusion about our determination to combat climate change.  We will always support real climate action and serious climate justice.  We will always speak up for the interests of the developing world, including Africa and the Sahel region.  And we will do so at the right place – the UNFCCC.

I thank you.

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