Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif came under one roof during a peacekeeping summit held on the sidelines of the General Assembly, but only waved at each other and did not speak or shake hands.
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Paris: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night left for New Delhi after wrapping up his two-day visit here during which he attended the crucial climate change conference and launched the India-mooted International Solar Alliance.
Xi’s BRICS partner, Indian Prime Minister Modi also referred to “climate justice” stressing that the “Innovation Summit” in Paris “unites us behind a common purpose”.
“The principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities must remain the bedrock of our collective enterprise”, Modi told the world leaders yesterday addressing the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as the COP21, which stands for the 21st annual “Conference of Parties”. “We have set ambitious targets”.
Hollande said the alliance would enable a transfer of funds and technology from rich members to poorer ones “to reduce inequalities and ensure development”.
The alliance has been described by Modi as “the sunrise of new hope”. “This is an alliance that brings together developed and developed countries”. Modi has stressed that climate change is a global problem “not of our making”, and called for restoring “a balance between economy and ecology”.
Exactly how much that investment has paid off will become clear this week during the climate talks in Paris, where India, the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas polluter, has emerged as a pivotal player in shaping the outcome of a deal on which Mr Obama hopes to build his legacy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will also provide land and about 30 Million US $ for building a secretariat for the alliance and infrastructure. “People involved in drafting the Constitution were affiliated to the Congress, we should see this in a positive manner”, he said. He once again reiterated his plans to launch an alliance of 121 solar-rich nations in the tropics in an attempt to bring affordable solar power to remote villages, insisting: “We expect the same from the world with respect to responding to climate change”.
“The prosperous still have a strong carbon footprint and the world’s billions at the bottom of the development ladder are seeking space to grow”, he said. “Technology is evolving, costs are coming down and grid connectivity is improving”, the prime minister said.
The most recent encounters between the two leaders was on July 10 when they met in Russian Federation for the SCO summit were a tentative meeting of security officials between the two countries was agreed but never took place because of disagreements over the meeting agenda.
To highlight the importance of solar energy, Modi said that in Indian tradition, Sun is the source of all forms of energy.
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India’s domestic commitment to solar is “significant”, said Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics, to Quartz.
