PM Modi inaugurates NGT’s climate conference, highlights climate inequality

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a memento during the inauguration of the International Conference on ‘The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics’, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on September 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (September 19, 2026) said developing countries are often unfairly blamed for carbon emissions while the fact is that developed nations have six times more per capita carbon emissions compared to India.

Inaugurating an international conference on the environment and climate in New Delhi, the Prime Minister also said that whenever he takes forward work on nuclear energy generation, people who always talk about the environment will move court to stop it.

“We all know that the responsibility for carbon emissions has often been wrongly placed on developing countries. While the historical truth is that even today, India’s contribution to per capita carbon emissions is less than half of the global average,” he said at the two-day event being attended by environmental experts, Supreme Court judges, legal experts and senior government officials.

Environmental experts, Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, District Court judges, Secretaries of various Ministries, senior government officials, and representatives of State judicial academies, State Legal Services Authorities, State Expert Appraisal Committees, State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities, State Wetland Authorities and other stakeholders are taking part. Judges and judicial representatives from 17 countries are also participating

President Droupadi Murmu, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power Manohar Lal, Justice P.S. Narasimha of the Supreme Court, Justice Shrivastava and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta will attend the valedictory session on Sunday (September 20, 2026).

Mr. Modi said developed nations have six times more per capita carbon emissions compared to India and New Delhi strongly presents this fact on global platforms.

“And I would say to every Indian: You too say this forcefully,” he said.

The Prime Minister said India is working with the rest of the world and is setting new standards for environmental protection.

He said that India is focusing on renewable energy and is the only nation in G20 that has already fulfilled its Paris (COP 21) commitments, well before its timeline.

“This is the power of New India. Non-fossil fuels, solar energy capacity, stoppage on carbon emissions... India’s performance on all such metrics is being discussed across the world,” he said.

NGT said the conference would provide a platform to discuss major environmental and climate challenges facing the world. It will focus on identifying gaps in policy-making and implementation, sharing successful practices and strengthening cooperation among institutions and stakeholders.

Four technical sessions on key environmental issues will be held, and the conference will seek to develop a roadmap for dealing with present and future challenges. The Tribunal said the aim was to strengthen environmental justice and institutional cooperation, and to promote dialogue on the growing challenges arising from the relationship between environment, climate change, development and justice.

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