CoP29 Summit: Environment minister Bhupender Yadav gives it a miss

New Delhi: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has decided to skip the 29th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC at Baku, making his deputy Kirti Vardhan Singh as the leader of the Indian delegation.

Other key members of the delegation are environment ministry secretary Leena Nandan, additional secretary Naresh Pal Gangwar as India’s lead negotiator and joint secretary Neelesh Sah who will be the deputy lead negotiator.

Asked whether the cabinet minister will join the delegation later at Azerbaijan capital, ministry sources said there was no such information.

Yadav is one of the key leaders spearheading the BJP campaign in Maharashtra that is going to polls on Nov 20, two days before curtains are drawn on COP 29. It is also speculated that he may receive a bigger responsibility within the saffron party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also not travelling to Baku unlike some of the other past summits like the ones at Dubai and Glasgow. In a departure from past conferences, India will also not host a pavilion at COP29.

India’s low-key presence at the climate summit comes at a time when the country balances its role as a developing nation with rising energy demands and a focus on economic growth, as the world looks to emerging economies for leadership in reducing emission.