NDTV World Summit: Without India Any Fight Against Climate Change Useless, Says German Envoy

German Ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann said India is "indispensable" in the fight against climate change, and it would be futile to exclude the country in any global strategy to address the challenge.

"Without India, any fight against climate change is useless. It is the most populous country in the world. We (Germany) have joined hands with India through various projects to together combat climate change," Ackermann said, while speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2024 on Monday.

In India, when it comes to climate change, a lot is happening outside the government as well, he said, referring to the adoption of biofuel and renewable energy by a sizeable portion of the country's private sector.

"When you look at the private sector in India, I think you can find how you can address the energy needs with the use of renewables," he said.

Notably, India has set a target of expanding renewable energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.

Leading Global South

Brazilian Ambassador to India Kenneth H. da Nobrega, who participated in the panel discussion, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for the Global South is laudable.

"India has all the pre-conditions to assume the leadership of Global South. The country has the economic pre-conditions, the technological preconditions and also the civilisational preconditions. India is also focussed on the 21st century challenges," Nobrega said.

According to Ackermann, India is "very important for world equations" and should be recognised as one.

The country has stepped up on the international stage, and has become one of the main players, the German envoy said. "India deserves permanent seat at the UNSC," he said, adding that multilateral institutions should be reformed to pave for the inclusion of countries like India.

The panel discussion comes at a time when the world is facing two raging military conflicts—Israel's war with Hamas and Hezbollah in West Asia and Russia's battle with Ukraine in Eurasia.

For a fast-growing economy like India, "no problem is a distant problem", said Ashok Malik, partner and chair of India practice of the Asia Group.

"In 1991, when we were opening out markets, we had $40 billion of foreign trade. Now, it's close to $2 trillion. There's a consequence to that...a problem in West Asia is our problem. Even a problem in South America will be our problem. We will have an economic problem, a political problem," Malik said during the discussion.

Syed Akbaruddin, former permanent representative of India to the UN, said the West Asia conflict is a "defining moment" for the present world order. The Israel-Palestine issue has remained unresolved for the last 70 years, but what is different now is that the faultlines have changed, he explained.

"We all grew up seeing Palestine as an Arab versus Israel issue. Today, it's between Iran and Israel. This new faultline will have tremendous repercussions," he said.