Hand in hand, India and France will unite to battle climate change
Modi and Macron pledge support for the Paris accord
PARIS // French president Emmanuel Macron and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi yesterday said their countries would join hands to tackle climate change after the US withdrew from the Paris accord.
Mr Modi, whose country is the world’s third- biggest producer of carbon emissions, said in Russia on Friday that he would continue to back the deal, and Mr Macron said the 2015 Paris agreement was irreversible despite US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw.
“The protection of the environment and the mother planet is an article of faith,” Mr Modi said alongside Mr Macron in Paris.
The two leaders, who met for the first time, announced no contracts or new initiatives.
“We are both convinced that our countries have to do a lot for the ecological and environmental transition and the fight against global warming,” Mr Macron said. He said that France would go above and beyond its Paris agreement commitments. Mr Macron said he planned to visit India before the end of the year for a first summit of the International Solar Alliance, an initiative launched by India and France during the Paris climate talks.
Mr Macron said the alliance would lead to concrete measures in favour of solar energy and commit the companies of both nations.
The alliance seeks to mobilise more than US$ 1 trillion (Dh3.67th) by 2030 and bring together more than 100 solar-rich countries to deliver solar energy to some of the planet’s poorest people.
The two leaders said they also discussed how to combat terrorism and that they would work on concrete initiatives before the end of the year to fight terror- ism online. India and France’s relationship has have grown in recent years, most notably in the defence sector, with New Delhi ordering 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets.
The two countries are also in talks about nuclear power. In January last year, French company EDF signed a preliminary pact to build six Areva-designed European pressurised reactors at Jaitapur.
But last month, India’s cabinet approved plans to build 10 Indian-designed reactors and said they would not buy foreign reactors unless they were already in operation.