India cheers as Paris delivers accord

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Paris: Amid cheers, hugs and tears of joy, delegates from 196 countries at the climate change conference here adopted late Saturday the first universal pact committing them to curb global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and outline a roadmap to raise $100 billion annually towards a green fund for developing nations.
India welcomed the pact, saying it was balanced and addressed most of its concerns.
The Paris Agreement — as the 32-page accord is called and reached after two weeks of hectic talks, a day’s extension and and some sleepless night for negotiators — was declared adopted after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, also the chair of the conference, struck the gavel.
‘‘You’ve done it — reached an ambitious agreement, a binding agreement, a universal agreement. Never will I be able to express more gratitude to a conference. You can be proud that to stand before your children and grandchildren,’’ said French President Francois Hollande.
India’s Environment and Foreign Minister Prakash Javadekar felt the pact could have been more ambitious as the commitment from rich nations was ‘‘much below’’ what was expected of them, but felt the basic concept of common but differentiated responsibilities towards environment protecting was largely addressed.
‘‘Today is a historic day. What we have adopted today is not only an agreement but a new chapter of hope in the lives of seven billion people,’’ he said at the closing plenary, adding: ‘‘Today we reassure our future generation that we all will mitigate the challenge posed by climate change and give them a better future.’’
Earlier in the day President Hollande had called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support.    See P 9
Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement by the 21st Conference of Parties, under the aegis of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it will be taken to the UN headquarters. Then on Earth Day, April 22, 2016, it will be opened for the signatures of members for one year.
It will enter into force once 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of emissions ink it.
‘‘For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and join in common cause to take common climate action. This is a resounding success for multilateralism,’’ said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Agencies