India, France Pledge To Take Paris Accord Forward

PARIS: A day after the much-attacked withdrawal by the US, India and France on Saturday pledged themselves to take the Paris accord on climate change forward with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he will go beyond the agreement even as the two countries vowed to jointly fight the scourge of terrorism.

"India is with the Paris accord and even beyond that we will walk together and work together and leave a legacy for the future generations. In this direction India and France have taken several measures and discussed Indo-French partnership for sustainable technology," Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared at a joint media interaction after talks with new French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.

"Paris accord is a shared legacy of the world. The way we worked shoulder to shoulder, it is such a contribution of the present generation which gives birth to a new hope for becoming legacy for the future generations. It is a shared legacy of the world," he said.

"It is not just a question of protection of environment but it is the joint responsibility of all of us to save Mother Earth. It is our duty. For me and Indians preserving environment is an article of faith. What we got from our ancestors it becomes our responsibility to give pure water and pure air to the coming generations and the future world," he said.

On his part, the French President said first and foremost our commitment is to climate change and France will continue till the end in its implementation of the accord.

The assertion by the two leaders came a day after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to pull out of the Paris Accord, blaming among other things, India and China who he said were benefiting unfairly in billions of dollars. Trump's decision to pull out of the accord, which seeks to curb carbon emissions and has been agreed by almost all countries, has come under global attack.

Observing that the world is passing through a crisis, Modi said that he and Macron discussed terrorism extensively, on how to save the world from terror and radicalisation, and how to "go forward in deradicalisation and how to strengthen the fight against terror."

Earlier, Macron said France, which has seen some of the worst terror attacks in recent times, would stand by India in its fight against terrorism.

Modi said that at the time of the Paris accord an International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched. "I see a bright future for ISA as it was born out of joint efforts of India and France. I am happy that President Macron is fully committed to it and we will achieve success."

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