Reasserting India’s commitment to carbon emission reduction and sustainable development, Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar has said, India along with 100 other nations would ratify the COP-21 Global Climate Agreement on the 22nd of this month. COP-21 would be ratified at a high-level signing ceremony to be convened at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track by limiting global warming below 2 degree Celsius.
Speaking at a Symposium ‘COP 21 – Building Synergies, Shaping Actions’ organized in the University of Mumbai, Mr Javadekar said, all countries have decided to walk the green path as per their common but differentiated responsibilities. He described the Paris agreement as a victory of multi-lateralism and the one which helped correct image perception of India. He said though India is not part of the problem, it wants to be part of the solution.
The Minister added that the proposed Compensatory Afforestation Funds Bill 2015 would unlock 40,000 crores rupees funds for the ‘Green India’ initiative. The Bill is likely to be passed in the second half of the budget session.