Vientiane / AFP
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged to formally join the Paris climate change agreement this year, a potentially major step toward the pact entering into force. After a meeting with President Barack Obama, a champion of the deal, in Vientiane, the White House said the two leaders had made a joint commitment “to join the Paris Agreement this year.” While in China earlier this week the US already took that step.
Flanked by president Xi Jinping at a joint adoption ceremony in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said climate change would “define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other challenge”. The 180-nation deal sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.