India ratifies historic Paris Climate Agreement

India has ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, giving a significant push for the deal to enter into force by the end of this year. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin handed over the Instrument of Ratification signed by President Pranab Mukherjee, to Santiago Villalpando, the Head of the Treaties Division at the UN in a special ceremony in New York last night.

World leaders have welcomed India's move.United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, India's ratification of the agreement moves the world an important step closer towards achieving the goal of entering the landmark deal into force this year. In his message for the International Day of Non-violence, marked every year on Gandhi's birth anniversary, Mr Ban said, there is no better way to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi and his legacy for people and the planet than with India submitting its instrument of ratification to the deal. US President Barack Obama said, by joining the pact Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian people have



carried on Mahatma Gandhi's legacy. French President Francois Hollande recalled India's key role in the adoption of this agreement in December last year. 

By ratifying the landmark Paris climate deal, India has given a major boost to the deal. It is also expected to give momentum to the implementation of measures at the international level to control global warming by limiting greenhouse gases. Western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact. India, the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it feared that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects. The Paris Agreement seeks to accelerate and intensify the actions and investment needed for a sustainable low carbon future. During the Paris climate meet in December 2015, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funeling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.