Poll | Is India’s tough stand at the Paris climate summit fair?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the opening day of the Paris climate summit underlined the stand that India won’t accept any agreement without a clear differentiation in responsibilities and action between the rich and developing worlds.

India has taken a tough stand at the Paris climate conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying any agreement without differentiation would be “morally wrong” and asked rich nations to ratify the second commitment period of the existing climate treaty, Kyoto Protocol.

World leaders, including French President Francis Hollande, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, pose during the 'Mission Innovation: Accelerating the Clean Energy Revolution' meeting United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, north of Paris. (AP Photo)

Modi said, “World’s billions are at the bottom of the ladder and are seeking a place to grow,” he said, addressing the high-level segment of the Paris climate talks.

“India needs to grow as 300 million people are still without access to energy. We are determined to do so.”

The Prime Minister delivered a stern message to developed nations, saying that India did not create the climate change menace but was suffering its consequences. “Climate change is a major global challenge. But it is not of our making. It is the result of global warming that came from prosperity and progress of an industrial age powered by fossil fuel,” Modi said while inaugurating the India pavilion at the summit on Monday.