India ratifies the Paris climate agreement: Modi seeks space among global powers

The premier also announced the date, scheduled for October 2, the day Mahatma Gandhi was born. India is among the countries that emit the most greenhouse gases in the world. The agreement will enter into force upon ratification by 55 countries representing at least 55% of the emissions.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has announced that India will ratify the Paris climate agreement on October 2, the day Mahatma Gandhi was born. According to experts, the aim of the decision, for one of the most polluting countries in the world along with the US and China, is to gain greater space among world leaders in terms of environmental decisions, an increasingly urgent issue over the next few years.

Yesterday speaking at the national meeting of his party BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist) in Kerala, the head of the Government of India said that "ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it", but it has already scheduled a day of signing.

In December 2015, world leaders met in Paris on the occasion of the 21st Conference of the Parties, under UN auspices, to discuss the challenges of climate change and to curb global warming. At the end of negotiations, delegates from 195 countries pledged to keep the increase in global temperature "well below 2 degrees", and implement efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.

Under the terms of the Agreement, it shall enter into force when ratified by 55 countries responsible for at least 55% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus far, the were 60 countries signatories, for a total annual emissions at 47.5%. Among the most illustrious consensus, those of the governments of the US and China, which alone account for over 40% of global emissions.

Although Prime Minister Modi had declared his intention to continue to use conventional energy (such as coal) to ensure the Indian economic growth, he seems to have changed his minds. Perhaps pushed by Washington and Beijing, experts believe that the change by the head of the Government of India will have very positive implications in terms of global influence and the climate control regulation that the agreement will give.

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