Another country ratified the Paris climate agreement. On October 2, the day Mahatma Gandhi was born, India ratified the historic agreement. They deposited their “Instrument of Ratification” to the UN on the International Day of Non Violence, which marks Gandhi’s birthday. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Gandhi lived a life with a minimal carbon footprint.
The Paris agreement will go into effect when 55 countries emitting a minimum of 55 percent of emissions worldwide ratify it. 61 countries emitting 47.8 percent of emissions have ratified, approved, or accepted the agreement. India contributes around 4.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and the Indian government said their ratification brings the “cumulative emission level” to 51.89 percent.
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As part of the Paris climate agreement, governments had to provide their plans to reduce emissions in their country to avoid a temperature increase of more than 2 degrees Celsius. India’s commitment entails that by 2030, 40 percent of electricity will come via “non-fossil sources,” and by 2022 they aim to have a capacity for 175 gigawatts of renewable energy. India has said to meet their targets, they will need $2.5 trillion dollars. They say they’ll require money and technology discounts from other countries to reach the targets.
World Resources Institute executive vice president Manish Bapna said India could be “destined to be a major player in solar and wind markets.”
In the Indian government’s statement on ratification, they anticipated the Paris agreement would soon gain all the support it needs to go into effect. “With the gathering momentum and willingness expressed by several other countries to ratify the agreement before the end of this year, it is expected that the Agreement will enter into force soon and give a thrust to the global actions to address climate change.”
Via The Guardian
Images via Narendra Modi on Flickr and The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
