On COP-26 hinges credibility of UNFCCC process. It must break impasse between developed and developing world
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CONTEXT

In the next two weeks, a world desperate for climate solutions will be expecting for a significantly better outcome from the UNFCCC's 26th Conference of Parties in Glasgow than the meeting accomplished two years ago.
Agenda of the Summit

The spectacular failure of COP-25 in Madrid — the conference was postponed last year due to the Covid pandemic — to complete the process of framing rules for the Paris Pact despite going over by nearly two days had shed light on the disconnect between global climate diplomacy and the imperative to reduce GHG emissions.
Unchaining the ghosts of the UNFCCC's longest meeting will necessitate breaking the impasse between India, China, and Brazil, as well as the industrialized countries, over the future of carbon markets.
The latter have obstructed attempts to incorporate pre-Paris pact carbon credits into the historic agreement's rulebook, alleging that many of these credits do not adequately represent emissions reductions.
Even for a process that has frequently been found wanting, the Madrid wrangling constituted a new low, owing partly to the industrialized world's refusal to honour its pledges — financial, technological, and emissions-related.
But, much has happened since December 2019 to need that negotiators in Glasgow do more than conclude the unfinished business of Madrid. The weather has become more unpredictable, the pandemic has required connecting the dots between health and the environment, and the world is in the grip of an energy crisis.
An IPCC assessment issued in August warned that the earth might warm by more over 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next two decades, even if nations began dramatically reducing emissions right once.
These catastrophic warnings have focused attention on the Paris Agreement's voluntary framework for reducing emissions, known as Nationally Determined Contributions. The NDCs have long been criticized for being insufficient to avert a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels — the more conservative of the Paris Pact's determinants.
With a cataclysmic temperature rise predicted much earlier, wealthy countries, led by the United States, which has re-entered the Paris pact under President Biden, have begun to intensify their earlier calls for more global climate ambition.
The majority of discussions in the run-up to COP-26 have centred on the necessity for all countries to agree to a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.
Despite the fact that over 130 countries have made varied commitments to achieve carbon neutrality, it remains a difficult issue that divides rich and poor countries.
The legitimacy of the UN climate process is dependent on how it balances legitimate development claims by nations such as India with the crucial need to reduce global GHG emissions.
Conclusion

Historically, India has been an outspoken supporter of climate justice. The escalating crisis will almost certainly result in demands to reduce its claims. The country's negotiators must remain consistent in their refusal to cede development space. After all, India is on track to reach its Paris targets.