India has formally “withdrawn” its candidature to host the thirty third edition of climate CoP, Conference of Parties, the annual global summit involving around 200 countries that decides the global roadmap of climate action.
According to multiple highly placed sources, those this correspondent accessed, India has formally withdrawn its offer to host the COP33 climate summit in 2028 through a letter written to chair of Asia-Pacific group of countries in the first week of April. However, despite severe prodding, union environment, forest and climate change ministry did not either confirm nor deny the “withdrawal” till Thursday morning.
The India’s candidature to hold COP 33 was formally announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a global meeting in 2023 and got backing of several frontline countries.
“It’s true,” a senior union environment, forest and climate change official confirmed to this correspondent in response to a query on yje withdrawal. “The matter was under consideration for some time, actually since the COP 30 held in Belem, and only recently the formal decision about withdrawal was taken and conveyed” confirmed another senior official of the department. “The decision was taken at the very top, and we do not have knowledge,” pointed out one when quizzed on the reason behind the decision. The message to union environment minister Bhupender Yadav went unanswered.
The U Turn suprise
“On Dec 1 2023, the Prime Minister had announced grandly in Dubai that India would be hosting the annual UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP) in India in late 2028. Clearly the intention was to milk the global gathering for whatever it is worth in the months before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections … Unexpectedly last night, it was announced that India will not be hosting the high-profile 2028 Conference. No reasons have been given for this sudden decision,” wrote Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader and former union environment minister in his X handle on Thursday morning. “. … By 2028, the seventh assessment report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) may get published and this could put greater pressure on India as the Chair of the 2028 conference”, he added.
The information was first shared by Climate Home News, a digital reporting platform on the climate issues and its geopolitics on Wednesday.
The withdrawal came as a surprise as India had been using the proposed COP to position itself as the leader of the global south in climate matters. Even in 2025 July, the BRICS group, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, “welcomed” India’s candidacy to host COP33 in a joint statement.
According to sources, a communication from Indian government on April 2 intimated the withdrawing its candidacy in a letter addressed to chair of the Asia-Pacific Group stating that the offer stands withdrawn “following a review of its commitments for the year 2028.”
PM staked claim
India placed its claim during the Dubai climate summit in 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his plenary lecture at the summit on December 01, 2023, said “India is committed to the UN Framework for Climate Change Process … Therefore, today I also propose from this platform to host the COP-33 summit in India in 2028”.
Even subsequently, the ministry of external affairs website confirmed the development, “ … Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the High level segment of the “World Climate Action Summit” of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP-28, on 01 December 2023, being held at Dubai, UAE (where) Prime Minister also proposed to host the COP-33 in India in 2028”.
Soon after the announcement, Indian government formed a 11-member COP 33 high power cell in July 2025 to oversee the organisation of the proposed summit. The cell was scheduled to function under the Climate Change Division of the ministry and was led by joint secretary (climate change) with several directors, scientists, and deputy directors completing the team.
Incidentally, India had organised climate COP only once at Delhi in 2002.
Multiple theories
“I also heard about the decision, actually, the government was mulling on the withdrawal for quite some time,” said a former senior official from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Asked about the reason of withdrawal from organising such a major global event, the official said apparently the government has a plan to organise few other big ticket events during the time, about a year before the next parliament election, and does not want to get embroiled into organising the COP which is a major global event that spreads over two weeks involving nearly 200 countries and close to 75000 participants from all over the world.
“May be next Commonwealth Games slated in 2030 at Ahmedabad, which will be an extremely big-ticket event being the hundredth edition, is the reason” agreed a senior government official.
“May be India believes the COP will bring additional pressure on the country to deliver more on climate front which it does not want. Already its latest NDC has been criticised in certain international sectors, and there is a push for India to become more ambitious on climate change … organising the summit at its backyard would have added to the push,” observed a climate expert.
“The quickly changing global geopolitical dynamics and security concerns might have played a role in India taking the withdrawal decision if the news is true,” said Nilanjan Ghosh, who heads Development Studies at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and serves as the operational and executive head of ORF Kolkata.
“India’s current relation with the neighbours, especially Pakistan and Bangladesh, might have contributed,” said another.
Whatever the trigger, the decision of India “leaves uncertainty over the host of COP33, which will follow COP31 in Türkiye and COP32 in Ethiopia”, says Climate Home News. The Indian decision means that South Korea is now the only country having expressed interest in hosting the 2028 summit, with a final decision expected later this year. The right to host the annual climate COP negotiations rotates between the UN’s five regional groups, and COP 33 is scheduled to be organised by a country from the Asia-Pacific.
An opportunity missed
Independent experts observed that India decision to withdraw would be a setback for climate action in country as well as globally.
“India’s leadership consistently reminded developed nations of their responsibilities on mitigation and finance. Its withdrawal from the nomination is therefore a setback for the global effort toward an ambitious and equitable climate agenda,” stated Sanjay Vashist, director of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA).
“India’s withdrawal from the COP33 bid is a strategic missed opportunity. Having proven it can green its economy at a record pace, India has now forfeited the home stage to showcase its renewable energy triumphs, electric mobility revolution, and more” pointed out global climate activist Harjeet Singh, founding director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. “ … “By stepping back, New Delhi also loses a critical platform to champion the global south,” Singh further added.
“South Asia, especially Indian subcontinent, is the hotbed of climate change. The summit in India would have definitely able to highlight the concerns and vulnerability of the region mostly without any fault of us. The COP could have brought more support for the region; we missed the opportunity to be seen and heard,” observed another climate expert who has been following global climate negotiation for close to two decades.