India, the world’s third biggest carbon emitter, ratified the Paris agreement on climate change Sunday on the birthday of the country’s famously ascetic independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion people, is the latest big polluter to formally sign onto the historic accord which now takes a major step toward becoming reality.
The accord, sealed last December in Paris, needs ratification from 55 countries that account for at least 55 percent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
With India’s move, a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 percent of emissions have now ratified the agreement to commit to take action to stem the planet’s rising temperatures.
Indian officials ceremoniously handed over signed documents at the United Nations in New York at about 1400 GMT on Sunday, the environment ministry’s spokesman in New Delhi said.
“This was taken after a lot of deliberations and with a view to give the world a message...India is fast becoming a super power,” Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave told reporters in New Delhi ahead of the move.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last month that Oct. 2, a national holiday, had been chosen as the ratification date because freedom fighter Gandhi had lived his life with a low-carbon footprint.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon and others have voiced confidence the accord will come into force by the end of the year, after a string of nations joined up, including the United States and China, the two largest emitters.
EU environment ministers also agreed last week to fast-track the ratification.
Environmentalists welcomed Sunday’s move, but urged India to work to phase out heavily-polluting coal, which it relies on heavily for electricity.
“India is one the very few large economies that has not made any promises of phasing out of coal,” said Joydeep Gupta, director of “the third pole” website which focuses on environmental issues.
“This government is good on renewable energy, but not good on environmental issues. There is a lot of pushing back on air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution,” he told AFP.

Source: Arab News