WION World Pulse | ‘UN needs to do right thing..’: Development Alternatives Group founder Ashok Khosla urges global climate action

Countries like India are taking a central role in global climate action, driving the agenda and setting the pace, says Ashok Khosla, Founder & Chairman of the Development Alternatives Group, while speaking at WION World Pulse summit on Wednesday (Mar 18). “Countries like India are actually the champions—the ones driving the agenda and forcing the pace, because they realise that their future, in fact their present, is at stake,” Khosla observed. He highlighted that the ongoing crises in the Gulf illustrate the vulnerability of economies that are not resilient.

Developing nations leading the charge

Khosla emphasised that developing countries are the driving force in climate negotiations, while resistance often comes from industrialised nations. “If there is resistance or pushback, it is actually from the North—the people who started the dialogue, who identified the problem, and then chickened out. If it were not for countries like India and African countries, who are suffering the most from climate change, the international dialogue would be much slower than it is now,” he said.

ALSO READ: 'The proof is there to see,' says former IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria on India’s narrative formation in Ops Sindoor at WION World Pulse

Bridging gaps and restructuring global systems

Addressing the economic dimension, Khosla noted the disparity in costs faced by developing nations. “The price that industrialised countries had to pay when they were developing their technology is not the kind of cost that poorer countries are paying today. We are paying three to four times the interest for our capital compared to what they did. Unless that gap can be bridged, the other gaps cannot be bridged either.” He urged restructuring the global economy to enable countries to access resources necessary for climate-friendly technological and economic transformation.

Khosla also stressed the importance of climate literacy and societal responsibility. “Climate is a symptom, a product of badly designed development. If we are not going to make it a subject, then the responsibility falls on citizens to redesign their expectations, value systems, and aspirations,” he said. He warned that fragile global systems, like those exposed in the Gulf, exacerbate vulnerabilities beyond climate alone.

Finally, he highlighted the need for robust global governance. “Most of these issues have a global aspect, and they are not issues that can be dealt with by a single nation. We have got to have a global system of governance that cares about everybody’s welfare rather than simply a particular part of the globe. The UN is a wonderful construct, but it needs to do the right thing, and that is only going to happen if all of us—the citizens, and particularly the young—take their role seriously in making that happen,” Khosla concluded.

ALSO READ: ‘War ending has shifted to the Iranians’: Former IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria on lessons from West Asia conflict at WION World Pulse

WION World Pulse brought together a cross-section of policymakers, diplomats and industry leaders at a time of heightened global uncertainty. The global thought leadership forum came at a time when globally the lines between geopolitics, economics and technology are increasingly blurred.

The dynamic event began with a keynote address by Dr Subhash Chandra, Founder and Mentor of Zee Group and Former Rajya Sabha member. Addressing the diverse audience, Dr Chandra noted that "we are in an era of information overload" and in times like these, “diplomacy needs credible global platforms like WION”.