PM Modi leaves for Paris climate meet with grand plans on renewables

With a grand plan on renewables, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left for Paris to attend the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 climate summit beginning Monday.

With a grand plan on renewables, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left for Paris to attend the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 climate summit beginning Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves before his departure for France to attend the Paris Climate Conference, at AFS Palam in New Delhi on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

The Indian Prime Minister will be among the 147 heads of state and government who have, thus far, consented to attend the event - officially called the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Around 50,000 participants, including 25,000 delegates and stakeholders from 196 nations, are to converge in the French capital to forge a legally-binding deal to protect the environment from global warming, without sidestepping the aspirations of poor and developing nations.

Modi has pledged India’s support for preserving “our common home”, external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

“Developed countries have to walk the talk,” India’s environment minister Prakash Javadekar told IANS ahead of the crucial meet, hoping for some flexibility from rich nations led by US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

On the opening day, Prime Minister Modi and French President Hollande will propose a collaborative pact among 122 countries, many of them located between the tropics of cancer and capricorn, for an alliance to be named the International Agency for Solar Policy and Application. Modi is also tipped to hold a bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the summit.

At the larger level, the poor and emerging economies want clean and green technology and funding from rich nations to pursue their national interests without harming the environment further, as they hold the industrialised responsible for polluting the earth in the past.

India also submitted on October 2, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, its action plan on climate change, called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, pledging to slash by 33-35% over 15 years, while also pursuing its own sustainable development agenda.

These submissions, asked from the 196 members, will serve as the basis for negotiations.

Highlights of India’s position and offer for the summit:

# Formation of solar alliance

# Strive for equitable and just climate agreement

# Push for funding and technology transfer from developed countries

# Propose a healthy and sustainable way of living based on tradition, conservation and moderation

# Propose to cut CO2 emissions by 2-3 billion tonnes by 2030 through forest, tree cover

# Mobilise funds from rich nations for bridge resources required towards mitigation

# Push for global framework for quick diffusion of technology and collaborations