India has confirmed it has withdrawn its bid to host the COP33 UN climate summit in 2028, reversing a high-profile pledge made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.
“Yes, India has withdrawn. We have taken several factors into account. But India remains fully committed to meeting its climate change commitments,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly briefing on Friday.
The withdrawal is a significant reversal. Modi’s original candidature had been backed by the BRICS bloc in July 2024, and India had established a dedicated COP33 Cell in July 2025 to manage planning and logistics. The decision was widely interpreted as an assertion of India’s leadership role in global climate diplomacy, particularly as a voice of the Global South.
Jaiswal declined to provide specific reasons for the withdrawal, directing queries to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which has not yet responded publicly.
Climate observers have noted that India had already missed two NDC submission deadlines in 2025 and that Modi has skipped the last two COP summits. The withdrawal further raises questions about India’s commitment to multilateral climate processes.
For Sri Lanka and the broader South Asian region, India’s retreat from climate leadership comes at a difficult time. The region faces compounding environmental pressures — from the ongoing Middle East energy crisis disrupting fuel supplies to the El Nino drought warning expected later this year.
No alternative host for COP33 has been announced.
