HTLS 2025 highlights: Countries need to think of collective common futures, says Joyeeta Gupta

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Calling for greater attention to climate change, Prof Joyeeta Gupta warned that environmental crises threaten the entire economic system. “Business doesn’t seem to understand in the Global North that the value chain of production will be affected if the rains don’t fall somewhere. If the heat goes up so much that the labour cannot function, the entire value chain will suffer,” she said.

Three years. That’s how long before the world crosses the 1.5°C threshold, with only 130 gigatons of carbon dioxide space remaining. Yet at COP30 in Brazil last month, wealthy nations—responsible for four-fifths of historical emissions—resisted discussing their financial obligations while 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists ensured the final agreement never mentioned the words “fossil fuel.”

This failure reflects the persistent problem of climate action, and a deeper crisis of climate justice, according to University of Amsterdam professor Joyeeta Gupta, who has tracked climate negotiations for three decades. Read more

Prof Joyeeta Gupta on said there is a need for countries to think of collective common futures and called for a collaboration on climate change. “We have to think more broadly about collective common futures. So, all governments need to do that and that's really a challenge,” she said.

While speaking of climate change and ways of mitigation, Joyeeta Gupta said, “My hope is a little bit on the judiciary and social movements because social movements are creating narratives based on science and taking them to court. The courts are bringing science back into the discussion.”

Prof Joyeeta Gupta called for rich nations to contribute far more towards climate justice, adding that such assistance should come as grants rather than loans. “I will keep pushing the narrative that the rich countries need to pay much more. And it should be much more grant than loans,” she said.

Speaking on the North–South divide, Prof Joyeeta Gupta said the Global South has evolved into a far more complex arena, with countries progressing at very different speeds. “There is a massive diversity in the South, and in the North there is a certain degree of reluctance to participate in the negotiations, especially in North America,” she said.

Prof Joyeeta Gupta, distinguished professor of environment and development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam, while speaking of the recent COP30 summit, said the idea of net-zero emissions is problematic.

"We knew in 1992, that at some point, we have to get to zero. And this discussion of getting to zero has been problematised in some ways because governments have been talking about overshoot and net-zero. So, overshoot pushes the time-limit to when you get to the zero in future. And net-zero means you can continue to emit as long you can plant trees somewhere in the world," she said.

Edward Luce called Epstein files is very worrying for US President Donald Trump, noting that he hasn’t seen anyone “go to such lengths to suppress evidence of their innocence.”

“He (Trump) stoked the Epstein files as a deep-state cover-up when Biden was President, then came to office promising to expose everything,” Luce said. “But now he is doing everything possible not to. If, as he claims, the files prove his innocence, I can’t think of too many other people in history who have gone to such lengths to suppress evidence of their own innocence.”

Analyst-author Edward Luce on Friday called Zohran Mamdani's New York mayoral win "an extraordinary one." "New York is the largest Jewish city in the world. It has more Jews than the population of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. And a third of its Jewish voters voted for Mamdani, a guy who is anti-Zionist. So, this is an interesting phenomena," Luce said.

Edward Luce, the chief US commentator at the Financial Times, criticised US President Donald Trump, arguing that his worldview is shaped largely by opportunities to make money. “You will see him (Trump) getting along better with Pakistan than with India, because India is still a rules-based system,” Luce said. “You will see him getting along better with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE than with Canada, Britain or France for precisely this reason. Those countries cannot offer ‘crypto deals’ for Trump’s children,” he added.

Edward Luce on Friday launched a scathing attack at the American foreign policy under the Republican leader, saying, “there's no Trump policy, it's just things Trump does.”

Taking a jibe at Donald Trump’s claims about ending the Ukraine war, Edward Luce said, “He (Trump) started by saying he would fix the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours, then he stretched it to 100 days, and then it became 200 days.” Luce added that it has become clear that Vladimir Putin does not want to end the war in Ukraine.

While speaking about the current political climate in the US, Edward Luce remarked, “Washington is really Trumpistan.” He added that this may soon change, noting that “a battle for Trump’s succession” is already underway. “But, for the time being, this is a unique phenomenon in American history,” he said.

Edward Luce, chief US commentator at the Financial Times, described US President Donald Trump as a master of dominating the news cycle, saying the president enjoys “escalation dominance.” Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Luce said, “He (Trump) has got escalation dominance over news. Everything is about Trump. The way politics works is in reaction to Trump.”

The 23rd edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit will feature a distinguished list of speakers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, actor Hugh Grant, and Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal.

5:30pm–6:00pm: Edward Luce, chief US commentator at the Financial Times, in conversation with Kaveree Bamzai.

6:00pm–6:30pm: Prof. Joyeeta Gupta, distinguished professor of environment and development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and IHE Institute for Water Education, in conversation with Binayak Dasgupta.

Welcome to the Day 2 of the 23rd edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Edward Luce, chief US commentator at the Financial Times, will be speaking with Kaveree Bamzai on the current US politics, Trump's policies and the rise of Zohran Mamdani.