Dr Joyeeta Gupta, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, warned that the world is already living through a full‑blown climate emergency, with heat, floods and biodiversity loss hitting the poorest and most vulnerable first. She stressed that climate justice must be central to any solution, arguing that rich countries need to move faster on finance, technology and loss‑and‑damage support, while emerging economies like India must leapfrog to low‑carbon development without repeating the West’s high‑emission pathway.