India, April 17 -- India's recently withdrew its bid to host COP33, offering no public explanation beyond a vague reference to a "review of commitments". The Conference of Parties (COP) is the supreme annual decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that nearly 200 nations are signatories to.

The move reverses a pledge Prime Minister Narendra Modi made at the Dubai summit in 2023 and abandons India's stated ambition to lead the Global South on climate diplomacy. The timing could not be worse - at a moment when American climate leadership has effectively collapsed - India is one of the few large economies capable of anchoring global climate ambition.

The decision reflects the familiar anxi...