Javadekar was reacting to an earlier statement of Kerry in the media that India was being overcautious towards the new global climate regime that Paris was expected to put a stamp of seal on.
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He also highlighted initiatives that Maine’s largest city has undertaken to combat climate change – from seeking proposals for solar installations, to rolling out charging stations for hybrid electric vehicles, to using more local food in schools, to adopting a “Complete Street” policy, which seeks to make walking and biking safer and more convenient. It is a threat to lives and livelihoods everywhere. He threatened the economic stability and security of countries. We have to look at the issue differently.
While admitting that the negotiation process has been slow and cumbersome, the Secretary-General underlined that the world is seeing results.
But those targets and action plans would hold the global temperature rise by the end of the century to about 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, he said, still well above the 2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit that scientists recommend. But it is still not enough. He will meet with leaders of countries large and small – the world’s largest emitters and the ones that are most at risk – to find a way we can collectively reduce global emissions. We were the first to table our climate pledge in March and it is still the most ambitious contribution. We can get this done. It must mark the floor, not the ceiling of our ambition. The European Union will be working to achieve a comprehensive, durable and dynamic agreement that will accelerate the global shift to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies.
Around the world, momentum is building.
“‘We want to keep the business here and improve and reduce the emissions here”.
The sessions are venues for negotiators to discuss key aspects of the Paris climate agreement.
Scores of heads of state and government, including Obama, will attend the summit that begins next week.
Giving the details of the Paris meet, Javdekar said that this would also coincide with India’s major “solar alliance” to be co-hosted with France. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after the Paris terror attacks.
Second, the agreement must provide flexibility so it does not need to be continually renegotiated.
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete will participate in the conference, along with other world leaders.
Third, the agreement must demonstrate solidarity, including through financing and technology transfer for developing countries.
Fourth, an agreement must demonstrate credibility in responding to rapidly escalating climate impacts.
Canada is still far from being on-track to meeting the climate targets set by the former Harper government, and the new Liberal government hasn’t announced a target yet.
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Kerry has said that the mix of binding and non-binding elements of the deal – emissions cuts will require “transparency and accountability” but will not be legally binding according to the White House – means it doesn’t fit the standard definition of a treaty.
