Paris Summit: Climate change not of India’s making, Modi says

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of United Nations conference on Monday said that India did not initiate the climate change threat rather it was under distress due to the effects thereof. He conveyed a stern message to the rich countries, stating, "those with the luxury of choices" ought to sharply reduce emissions.

Modi repeated his concerns at a clutch of fora with his cramped schedule squeezing in the much-talked-about unplanned meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He also had a dialogue with the US President Barack Obama where the two countries decided that development and environmental safeguard must work simultaneously, stated a leading daily.

He, very specifically, mentioned that India was not be blamed for global warming, pointing out that the country was bearing the brunt of developed nations.

"Climate change is a key global gainsay and it is not of our creation. It is the result of global warming that came from prosperity and progress of an industrial age powered by fossil fuel," said Modi at the inaugural event at the India pavilion at the summit, strengthening the country's position in the face of latest US denunciation of India at the last summit.

He also pointed out the repercussions of global warming on India and the adverse effect it would have on the local farmers.

"But we in India face consequences. We see the risk to our farmers. We are concerned about rising oceans that threaten our 7,500 km of coastline and 1,300 islands. We worry about the glaciers that feed our rivers and nurture our civilisation."

Modi further mentioned the age old rhetoric of developing countries to let developed countries take the charge of their misdeeds and play a larger role in rectifying them as compared to the rest. He remarked that India wanted a "comprehensive equitable and durable agreement", highlighting a request of less-privileged nations who reiterated that the developed countries have been the major polluters over the years, they should assume a greater role in fighting global warming.

He evidently charted out India's approach for the 10-day-long summit, stating that the developed world must offer easy access to cleaner engineerings, macroclimate investment and the right to carbon space.

He also pursued to resolve intellectual rights concerns in the exchange of cleaner technologies at the Innovation Mission hosted by US President Barack Obama, with additional leaders of state and industry such as Bill Gates and Ratan Tata among the ones present there.

PM Modi expressed his apprehensions from the developed states to offer carbon space for the developing world to grow. He also specified that the rich nations cannot negate the prospects for the poor in the world to develop.

Apart from the Prime Minister's comments on climate change, he also had a transitory discussion with Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the beginning of the summit.