4 min readFeb 23, 2026 08:00 AM IST
First published on: Feb 23, 2026 at 08:00 AM IST
In a world where the US has exited many major international treaties and decided to walk away from its commitment to protect climate, multilateralism is clearly under great stress. The moral and ethical architecture of international climate policy is shaken. It is not just the absence of the largest economy from multilateral bodies that poses a threat to global cooperation. There is also a long-term threat to rule-based engagements. Increased preference for bilateral and plurilateral deals indicates loss of confidence in the consensus-based legal order and replacement by arrangements that are driven by reciprocal gains rather than internationally agreed goals.
This exposes climate to a double whammy. As per scientific assessments, we are on our way to miss the global climate goal and overshoot the temperature stabilisation target of 1.5 degree Celsius. The policy shift in the US is likely to dampen both public and private sector investments in clean energy transition and further accentuate the gap in achievement of the global goal.
It was the recognition of this challenge that prompted the presidency of COP30 to focus more on the implementation of agreed climate actions than on seeking consensus-based legal legitimacy for future actions. The Global Implementation Accelerator is a result of this recognition. It reflects an awareness that the threat to multilateralism can be partially tackled through the reengineering of global processes. The two-tier arrangement evolved at Belém, one aimed at continued efforts at enhancing legal commitments, and the other aimed at implementation was a step in this direction.
In the current scenario, it makes sense to avoid getting entangled in procedural legitimacy and focus more on actions that all major stakeholders can take. While the presidency prioritised a few actions of its own choice in the form of non-CO2 mitigation, ecosystem restoration, among others, the larger international community is still struggling with the perennial issues of climate finance, just energy transition, and equity based global framework of actions.
Finance remains the stickiest issue. A recent NITI Aayog report on the financing needs of India’s Net Zero transition underscores the global and national financing gap. Current global flows estimated at about $1.9 trillion annually are far short of $6-9 trillion required to stay on the 1.5-degree trajectory. India alone needs $10-20 trillion or $250-450 billion annually by 2070 to meet its goal while current flows are only about $135 billion. This implies huge additional and upfront investments to protect domestic consumption and avoid welfare losses. The need for greater and closer engagement amongst willing partners to keep the momentum of global financial flows for a clean and just energy transition has never been greater.
It is also important that multilateral cooperation is insulated from the threat of unilateral trade actions in the name of protecting climate. There is a tendency amongst global powers to use trade as an instrument of enforcing domestic environmental goals. Forcing global standards for carbon consumption is an example. The world urgently needs a mutually shared understanding of domestic policies that are compatible with a legally mandated international climate regime.
The value of collective actions aimed at protecting our environment lies in how they protect vulnerable people. Development must ensure that the voices of the marginalised are included in its planning and execution. One of the ways in which global players can do so while serving the interest of multilateralism is to build trust in an equitable and inclusive decision-making process.
India has been the leading voice of the developing world in these matters. It has pursued equity-based cooperation at the global level while pushing aggressive domestic goals for climate. It will have the chance to revisit these issues in partnership with global leaders and stakeholders when they gather in Delhi this month during the 25th Edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit hosted by TERI. The summit has served as a platform to foster dialogue and collaborative climate action amongst partners of the developed and developing world in the larger interest of consensus-based global goals. This provides an opportunity for India to reaffirm its leadership of the Global South and commitment to multilateralism through adherence to the principles of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas.
The writer is distinguished fellow, TERI and India’s former principal negotiator for climate change at UNFCCC
