Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Barack Obama in Vientiane on September 8, 2016/ AFP
VIENTIANE, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sep 8 – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged to formally join the Paris climate change agreement this year, a potentially major step toward the pact entering into force.
After a meeting with President Barack Obama, a champion of the deal, in Vientiane, the White House said the two leaders had made a joint commitment “to join the Paris Agreement this year.”
While in China earlier this week the US already took that step.
Flanked by president Xi Jinping at a joint adoption ceremony in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said climate change would “define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other challenge”.
The 180-nation deal sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.
It aims to limit global temperature increases to two degrees centigrade, and will be triggered after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
India had been a reluctant adherent to the agreement, concerned that it would curb efforts to bring millions of Indians out of poverty.
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