New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) India on Thursday said that no decision has been made yet on ratifying the Paris Agreement -- the global treaty to tackle climate change adopted by 195 countries, even as China and the US formally joined the deal.
"The government has made no decision as yet on ratifying the Paris Agreement," the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swrup said, adding that domestic processes in this regard were still underway.
G20 members earlier this week agreed to complete their domestic legal formalities for the ratification of the deal as soon as their "national procedures allow".
The Paris agreement, sealed last December after two weeks of intense negotiations, needs to be ratified by 55 countries, representing 55 per cent of global emissions, in order to come into effect.
In October last year, India unveiled its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), committing to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels.
The INDCs, which lay out the blueprint for tackling climate change, emphasised eight key goals -- sustainable lifestyles, cleaner economic development, reducing emission intensity of GDP, increasing the share of non-fossil fuel based electricity, enhancing carbon sink, adaptation and mobilising finance, technology transfer and capacity building.
India is the world's third-largest carbon emitter among nations, after China and the US. The Paris agreement aims to keep the global temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) compared with preindustrial times.
