PM Narendra Modi and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s 'Melodi selfie' at COP28 climate summit

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, captured a light-hearted moment at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, sharing a selfie that quickly went viral on social media.

Meloni posted the selfie on her Instagram with the caption, “Good friends at COP28 #Melodi,” a clever play on the surnames of both leaders.

The photo was also shared on X (formerly Twitter), where it garnered significant attention. By the time of the post, it had been reshared 37k times, accumulated over 12.6 million views, and received 191k likes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also shared a photograph alongside Meloni during the summit, He said, “Had a meeting with PM @GiorgiaMeloni of Italy on the sidelines of the #COP 28 Summit. I have confidence in the collaborative endeavours of India and Italy for a future that is both prosperous and sustainable.”

During his participation in COP28, Prime Minister Modi engaged with several world leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu.

In his COP28 speech on Friday, PM Modi emphasised the urgent need for collective action to significantly reduce global emissions. He announced a ground-breaking “green credit” initiative aimed at creating carbon sinks through active public participation, reported NDTV.

Modi underscored India’s commitment to environmental responsibility, stating, “India's population is 17% of the global population, but in global carbon emissions, India is only at 4%.” He highlighted India’s progress in achieving its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, specifically reaching non-fossil fuel targets nine years ahead of schedule, the news report added.

“We do not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century,” Modi cautioned, urging all nations to work sincerely towards meeting their NDC targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The agreement aims to limit global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era, with a preferable threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.