In a bold move, India on Sunday said that achieving its climate goals may be linked to issues like its membership to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group — held up due to China’s opposition — and availability of technology as it sought to push for the inclusion of differentiated responsibilities that seeks the developed West to fulfil its commitments.
The pitch for NSG membership, which India has said it should get on the basis of its responsible conduct as a nuclear state, comes as part of its demand for the principle of “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)” being the basis for climate action at the G20 meeting in Italy.

Asked about the support that India will require to make a transition from coal to other technologies, commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal, who is also India’s Sherpa at G20 said: “This is something that will have to be decided in term of types of technologies that will be available for climate transition. For example, for our technology to be replaced from coal to, may be, nuclear, we will need large amounts of capital for setting up nuclear power plants, both to replace our current demand, and for our future demand that our development imperative requires. We will need to be a member of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group for adequate availability of raw material for nuclear supply and several other associated concerns around cost of power.”
Addressing a news conference, India’s key interlocutor at the all-powerful grouping said there was an acknowledgement from countries on the importance of shared standards for seamless travel — including testing requirements and results, vaccination certificates and mutual recognition of digital applications — something that India had been pushing for. The Indian position reflects an assertive stance that seeks to counter the pressure being mounted by the West on all nations adopting a net zero target.

Besides, the 20 countries that account for nearly 80% of the global GDP have accepted that there needs to be recognition of Covid-19 vaccines deemed safe and efficacious by the WHO and strengthening the global agency’s ability for approval of vaccines, including optimising its procedures and processes with the aim of broadening the list of vaccines authorised for emergency use. The statement is crucial as homegrown Covaxin has been awaiting emergency health approval from the WHO for several months.
A key element of discussion at the meeting of G20 leaders in Rome focused on climate change ahead of the Glasgow meet. Goyal said that instead of only focusing on the climate goals, India, along with other developing countries, was able to introduce language in the final declaration on steps that are required including by developed countries to achieve these goals. “For the first time, G20 has identified sustainable and responsible consumption and production, along with provision of finance and technology as ‘critical enablers’ for achieving climate goals of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach,” he said, adding that this was in line with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of promoting sustainable lifestyles globally.

He said that while all countries need to be net zero, the developed countries, “which have enjoyed the fruits of low-cost energy for several years”, will have to move faster and may be “net negative” so that space is created for the developing countries to meet their developmental requirements. He said the availability of technology for the developing countries is going to be crucial.
Funding is also seen to be crucial and India pushed for an explicit recognition that the goal of developed countries in making available $100 billion annually through 2025 has not been achieved and that they should provide the financial support no later than 2023. Besides, it pitched for a commitment from G20 to mobilise international finance to support green, inclusive sustainable development.
In his intervention, the PM also suggested the creation of a G20 Clean Energy Projects Fund to be used by countries yet to achieve peaking.