UN climate chief backs Modi’s remarks on clean energy cushioning India against oil price shock

NEW DELHI: United Nations Climate chief Simon Stiell has endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarks that investments in clean energy helped protect India's economic growth despite the oil price shock crisis, describing the comments as “very salient”.

Stiell, who is overseeing the international climate negotiations at COP31, acknowledged that the world is in the midst of a global fossil fuel cost crisis, as fossil fuel import costs drive inflation right through economies around the world.

In a written interview to ANI from Antalya, where COP 31 is underway, Stiell also welcomed India’s Green Energy Corridor, calling it a “major step forward that will deliver big dividends for India's people and economy.”

COP31 is the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, currently taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026.  The Turkish Presidency of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has proposed a global 35-by-35 electrification pledge.

“The Turkish Presidency’s focus on electrification…shows that by electrifying more of their energy use, powered by renewables and better grids, countries can reduce energy bills and reduce pollution, which improves people's health and can lower energy bills.  PM Modi's recent announcement on the Green Energy Corridor to strengthen grids and battery storage is a major step forward that will deliver big dividends for India's people and economy,” the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said.

“Working hand in hand with electrification, clean energy protects economies from the ruinous rollercoaster of fossil fuel dependency.  PM Modi's recent comments about how investments in clean energy helped protect India's economic growth despite the oil price shock crisis are very salient,” he added.

Addressing the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit & Expo 2026 on November 2, PM Modi said India was better placed to handle the global oil crisis despite the economic challenges,

“If India had not invested in clean energy and created new systems for this over the past decade, then our crisis could have been much more severe than the rest of the world,” PM Modi had said.  On being asked about the UNFCCC’s key priorities for COP31, Steill stated that COP31 is about showing and driving real-world progress on practical issues that matter to people in their everyday lives. (ANI)