“It’s a pleasure to meet with my friend and partner, Prime Minister Modi of India”. The only problem will be whether India’s simultaneously planned expansion into coal will wipe out not only the benefits of its own solar industry, but that of other countries as well.
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Later, he delivered a speech on making COP21 a success by promising to make India a champion in the fight against climate change.
“It is a good thing that there has been a meeting between both the Prime Ministers but we would like to know that what the policy of this government against Pakistan is?” President Obama said that India must curb its carbon dioxide pollution even while it works to eradicate poverty, prioritise growth and promote economic development. The Prime Minister stressed that an effective “loss and damage” mechanism also needed to be incorporated into the agreement. That also means strong public commitment by suppliers to developing countries.
PM Modi said India is a developing country that needs to grow rapidly to meet the aspirations of 1.25 billion people – 300 million of whom are without access to energy. “And we additionally have the identical opinion and hope”, he stated.
“Modi’s speech has set the tone for the two weeks of negotiations at Paris”. We have always been willing to talk. And as you know, Mahatma Gandhi was the biggest champion of nature.
Nawaz said this was all the more important for countries like Pakistan, whose contribution to global warming was minimal, yet it remained one of the most vulnerable to its adverse effects. It should also be holistic in scope and ambition, by taking a balanced view between mitigation and adaptation aspects. Over the next seven years, the country plans to ramp up its domestic solar energy production capacity from 4 gigawatts (achieved in June 2015) to 100 gigawatts by 2022.
“India will fulfill expectations from it and its responsibilities… the country is working to take forward development and (protecting) environment together”, Modi said at a joint press event with Obama. We will cooperate on training and building institutions. We see the risk to our farmers.
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“The best political and technical measures will be ineffective, and our collective efforts inequitable, unless we review a lifestyle that overburdens our planet”, he cautioned. “And I’d just like to thank him”, he added. We talk very openly.
