India votes against UN draft resolution on climate change

India on Monday voted against a UN Security Council draft resolution that linked climate change with global security challenges as it argued that the move attempts to undermine the hard-won consensus reached at the recently concluded Glasgow Summit. "India is second to none when it comes to climate action and climate justice, but the Security Council is not a place to discuss either issue. In fact, the attempt to do so appears to be motivated by a desire to evade responsibility in the appropriate forum and divert the world's attention from an unwillingness to deliver where it counts," India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations T S Tirumurti said.

"Today's UNSC Resolution attempts to undermine the hard-won consensus which we reached in Glasgow. This resolution would only sow the seeds of discord among the larger UN membership," he told members of the UN Security Council explaining the country's decision to vote against a draft resolution in this powerful 15-membered body of the United Nations. Voting against the resolution, Mr Tirumurti said there should be no confusion about India's determination to combat climate change.The resolution, he asserted, sends a wrong message to the developing countries that instead of addressing their concerns and holding developed countries responsible for meeting their commitments under the UNFCCC, "we are willing to be divided and side-tracked under the guise of security. This resolution is a step backward from our collective resolve to combat climate change."