Overview
- India, in an April 2 letter to the Asia-Pacific Group, said it was withdrawing its candidacy after a “review of its commitments” for 2028.
- Officials have offered no detailed public reason, and the Environment Ministry has not commented on the decision.
- The region must now nominate a replacement host, with the choice expected to surface at COP31 in Turkey and South Korea floated locally without a formal bid.
- Opposition leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the government's climate commitment, while former NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant called the pullback sensible.
- Hosting a COP means presiding over the talks under the UN climate process, and COP33 is scheduled for the second Paris Agreement stocktake that pressures countries to lift their climate targets.