Climate justice has won: Modi

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated how every country rose to the challenge for reaching the agreement at the Conference of Parties (COP)-21 and said deliberations showed collective wisdom of the world leaders to mitigate climate change. “Outcome of #ParisAgreement has no winners or losers. Climate justice has won & we are all working towards a greener future,” Modi tweeted, commenting on the legally-binding pact which seeks to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and making developed nations commit USD 100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries.

Chapter of hope 

Noting that the agreement acknowledges and recognises the development imperatives of India and other developing countries, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “Today is a historic day. What we have adopted is not only an agreement but a new ‘chapter of hope’ in the lives of seven billion people.” 

“Mahatma Gandhiji used to say that ‘we have not inherited Earth from our ancestors, but we have it on loan from future generations,” Mr Javadekar said at the plenary session after the agreement was adopted.

Mr Javadekar, however, also said the agreement could have been more ambitious as the actions of developed nations are “far below” than their historical responsibilities and fair shares. “We have in the spirit of compromise agreed on a number of phrases in the agreement,” he said.

During his visit, PM Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the conference and held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe.