India ratifies Paris Climate Agreement at United Nations
India ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change on 2nd October, the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi; also observed as the International Day of Nonviolence. India’s permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin handed over the Instrument of Ratification signed by President Pranab Mukherjee, to Santiago Villalpando, the Head of the Treaties Division at the United Nations in a special ceremony in New York.
India is the 62nd country to ratify the agreement, which will enter into force one month after 55 countries that account for 55 percent of global emissions ratify the agreement. With this move, India has provided a major boost to the deal. It is also expected to give momentum to the implementation of measures at the international level to control global warming by limiting greenhouse gases.
India, the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it feared that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.
The Paris Agreement seeks to accelerate and intensify the actions and investment needed for a sustainable low carbon future. During the Paris climate meet in December 2015, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funneling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, India’s ratification of the agreement moves the world an important step closer towards achieving the goal of entering the landmark deal into force this year.
In his message for the International Day of Non-violence, marked every year on Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Mr Ban said, there is no better way to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi and his legacy for people and the planet than with India submitting its instrument of ratification to the deal.
US President Barack Obama said, by joining the pact Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian people have carried on Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy.