In Munich, Nirmala Sitharaman stresses on differentiated local weather motion tasks

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, talking on the on the Munich Safety Dialogue on Saturday (February 14, 2026), known as for differentiated duty amongst nations in direction of mitigating local weather change , primarily based on the ‘polluter pays’ precept. She additionally urged nations to share their applied sciences, on a industrial foundation, to struggle local weather change.

The Union minister has on a number of events, together with across the World Financial institution- Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) conferences in Washington DC, known as for know-how cooperation and superior economies which have been historic polluters contributing extra in direction of funding for local weather motion.

“It can’t be that nations which have much less contributed to emissions, are made to pay equally,” she stated calling for differentiated remedy of tasks to preventing local weather change.

“Polluter pays,” she added, throughout a panel titled, ‘Levels of Instability: Local weather Safety in a Warming World’

Whereas specializing in longer-term local weather motion the federal government additionally needed to deal with a extra quick response to to how local weather change is affecting communities, in keeping with Ms. Sitharaman. She known as for focus not simply on emissions management however resilience and adaptation.

“In any other case, you’re going to sacrifice a whole lot of human beings, livestock in our eagerness, which is a justified eagerness, to save lots of the local weather for the Earth,” she stated.

The minister stated that applied sciences must also be capable of work with one another, as she known as for the sharing of applied sciences on a industrial foundation.

Saying India had elevated the share of GDP spent on local weather motion over the past six years, Ms. Sitharaman argued that the nation was not ready for funds and know-how to return from elsewhere.

“However they need to come,” she stated, including that such will increase in spending had been going to be much more difficult for African nations.

Additionally Learn: India’s progress on its local weather targets

Ms. Sitharaman defined the allocations in direction of environmental packages within the Union Price range didn’t inform the complete story of how a lot could be spent on initiatives through the yr.

The Finance Minister was responding to a query on the Union Price range’s discount in funds allotted to the management of air pollution  in comparison with final yr and the rise in funding for the ‘Inexperienced India’ mission.  Whereas funding for the mission elevated from ₹95.7 crores in 2025-26 to ₹212.5 crores for 2026-27, the allocation for the management of air pollution for 2026-27 stands at round ₹1091 crores, down from a revised estimate of ₹1,300 crores for 2025-26.

She described funding as a “dynamic course of” with supplementary need-based grants doubtlessly being given through the course of the yr.

Worldwide cooperation on local weather change has been shaken because the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White Home in January 2025, with the administration reversing U.S. insurance policies on the inexperienced transition, together with pulling America out of the Paris Settlement on local weather, once more.

One of many panelists, Sheldon Whitehouse, a U.S. Senator and the very best rating Democrat on the Senate surroundings committee, criticised the Trump administration.

“What this administration is saying about local weather change can actually solely be put within the class of corruption,” Mr Whitehouse stated. He apologized for U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio’s ‘local weather cult’ comment made earlier on Saturday (February 14, 2026) in Munich saying the comment wouldn’t age nicely.

“The fossil gasoline business has constructed the most important equipment of fraudulent misinformation and darkish cash political corruption within the historical past of the species,” Mr. Whitehouse stated.