New Delhi, April 1 -- It is unreasonable to expect developing countries to commit to costly climate mitigation strategies when the only reason developed nations are where they are is that they used cheap polluting technologies to get there. Having said that, global warming is real, and unless all countries commit to a more climate-friendly approach, we will have no hope of fighting it.

This is why, for the past three decades, the climate consensus has been that developed countries will bear the brunt of the cost that poorer countries will have to incur if they are to adopt the expensive green solutions that the world needs them to. However, with the US leaving the Paris Agreement, the old compact is unravelling quickly. We need a new app...