India is well placed to provide global leadership as economic growth slows and geopolitical, climate and energy-security risks intensify, economist Lord Nicholas Stern said at the Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi on October 3. He cited India’s G20 presidency in 2023 as evidence of its ability to bring countries together.

Stern said declining growth and increasingly difficult geopolitical and geoeconomic relationships had created a need for major economies to contribute more actively to international cooperation. He identified strained collaboration with China and reduced reliability from the United States as factors making India’s role more significant.

He said India was particularly exposed to climate change because its economy faced the combined threat of severe floods and droughts. Risks included disruptions to the monsoon, pressure on agriculture, rising temperatures across northern India and the vulnerability of the Himalayas as glaciers retreat.

The economist also highlighted the impact of El Niño conditions on India’s climate risks. Changes in monsoon patterns would have serious implications because agriculture remains heavily dependent on rainfall, while recent disasters in the Himalayan region indicated the potential scale of future threats.

Stern said the response required substantially higher investment in resilience, emissions reduction and development, rather than treating these priorities separately. He linked climate action to energy security, noting that India’s dependence on imported oil and gas left it exposed to global prices, geopolitical tensions and disruptions to international supply routes.

He said India’s scale, democratic institutions and international relationships gave it the capacity to play a central role in addressing global risks. The fifth Kautilya Economic Conclave is being held in New Delhi from October 3 to October 5.