Developing countries are "entitled" to use fossil fuels, India's environment minister told the COP26 climate on Saturday after draft texts encouraged nations to accelerate away from polluting energy.
Bhupender Yadav told delegates that countries with little historic responsibility for climate change had the "right to their fair share of the global carbon budget and are entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels".
He said that climate change was "caused by unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns".
Yadav also suggested India was not in favour of a COP26 initiative to accelerate national emissions cutting plans (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
"There is a well-defined cycle for submission of NDCs. There is no need to deviate from it," he said.