India withdraws offer to host COP 33

India has withdrawn its offer to host the United Nations ‌annual climate Conference of the Parties (COP33) summit in 2028, the Indian media reported today (9 April) citing sources.

During his address at COP28 in Dubai in 2023, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed India as the host country for COP33. Usually, the venue for a COP edition is decided two years in advance.

The sources confirmed the decision was officially communicated to the concerned authorities earlier this week that India is withdrawing its bid to host COP33. They, however, did not state any specific reason behind the government's decision.

There was no response from the Environment Ministry on the development. A questionnaire sent to the COP headquarters in Bonn also did not elicit any response.

However, former CEO of India's official think-tank NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, in a post on X, called India's withdrawal a "sensible move".

"The developed world has not lived up to any of its commitments made at COP21 in Paris. COPs have been taken over by fossil fuel lobbyists," he wrote.

The right to host the annual climate COP negotiations rotates between the UN's five regional groups. This year, COP31 will be co-hosted by Turkiye and Australia, both members of the Western Europe and Others Group – and next year's COP32 will be held in the capital city of Ethiopia, a representative of the African Group.

The United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets the rules for the climate club. COP is their flagship event, each gathering presided over and hosted by a country.

Main opposition Congress attacked the government for withdrawing its bid to host COP33 summit, saying it raises a question mark on its "true commitment" to the 2015 Paris Agreement to take on more ambitious carbon mitigation goals in short and medium terms.