A STUDY OF INDIA’S DIPLOMACY REGARDING THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE RIO TO PARIS CONFERENCE

Abstract

The U.N. convened a conference on the Man and Environment (Human Environment) in Stockholm 1972. It included environmental concerns in the domain of International Diplomacy and created ways for global environmental cooperation. Prime Minister of India, then Indira Gandhi, initiated India’s environmental diplomacy by addressing the conference and drawing attention to the link between the environment and development, stating that “the environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty.” The UN World Commission on Environment and Development in 1983. It shaped its report as ‘Our Common Future” was published in 1987. India’s diplomacy was shaped by its foreign policy, which shifted from the ideological foundation of non-alignment, global justice, and ethics towards the pragmatic approach of liberalization in 1991 under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao. The United Nations took steps to organize the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, also known as the “Earth Summit.” It adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda-21. India participated in the negotiation to adopt UNFCCC; India continuously highlighted issues relating to equity, past accountabilities, and per capita emission as the basis for a differentiated approach to the collective arrangements being considered. India accepted the norms and values of the Kyoto Protocol 1997 and U.N. SDGs. India took steps to change the name of the Environment Ministry to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2015. At COP-21 in Paris 2015, India upgraded its official policies on climate change negotiations—taking a more proactive approach to a global challenge that puts millions of its citizens at risk—and placed itself in a leadership role. This paper will analyze the terms and conditions of the Rio to Paris conferences to consider India’s diplomacy regarding the environment and sustainable development.