G20 skips deadline on Paris climate deal allowing more time for India

​Hangzhou: The G20 members on Monday agreed to complete their domestic legal formalities for the ratification of Paris climate deal as soon as their "national procedures allow", a move which would provide more time to India to work out its own strategy keeping up with its developmental goals.

"We reiterate our commitment to sustainable development, strong and effective support and actions to address climate change. We commit to complete our respective domestic procedures in order to join the Paris Agreement as soon as our national procedures allow," said the joint communique issued at the end of the G20 summit.

India came under pressure to ratify the deal after China and the US - responsible for around 40 percent of the world's carbon emissions - ratified the agreement ahead of the G20 summit and handed over their countries' instruments of joining the agreement to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

India is still in the process of developing its industry amid its over 7 percent growth rate, the highest in the world at present, and wants to expand its manufacturing in a big way.

The Paris Agreement has charted the course for post-2020 global cooperation against climate change, and it indicates that a cooperative, win-win, equitable and fair climate governance mechanism is being shaped.

"We welcome those G20 members who joined the Agreement and efforts to enable the Paris Agreement to enter into force by the end of 2016 and look forward to its timely implementation with all its aspects," the joint statement said.

"We affirm the importance of fulfilling the UNFCCC commitment by developed countries in providing means of implementation including financial resources to assist developing countries with respect to both mitigation and adaptation actions in line with Paris outcomes," it said.

"We reaffirm the importance of the support provided by the Green Climate Fund. We welcome the G20 Climate Finance Study Group Report on promoting efficient and transparent provision and mobilisation of climate finance to enhance ambition of mitigation and adaptation actions."

"We look forward to successful outcomes in related multilateral fora, including the Montreal Protocol and the International Civil Organisation," it said.

India warded off pressure from China and the US at the G20 summit here when the US and China tried to set 2016 as a deadline to ratify the climate deal after they both ratified the pact and handed over the instruments to the UN.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog's chief Aravind Panagariya, India's Sherpa at the Summit, on Saturday said India and several other countries

believe they cannot ratify the deal due to various legal impediments.

Panagariya speaking to the media on the sidelines of the G20 summit said that India was not ready in terms of domestic actions to ratify before 2016 end, but will do so at the earliest.

"There was an issue with respect to the G20 endorsing a proposal that all members would ratify the Paris Agreement by 2016. On that, there were some disagreements. So the final communique plans to welcome countries that plan to ratify by

2016, but others have said they would try to proceed as soon as possible," he said.

On fossil fuels, Panagariya said many other countries including India did not agree on certain date for ending fossil fuel subsidies.

"There was a discussion on energy, including ending fossil fuel subsidies and this has been a commitment from the past by the G20. But there was no agreement on that," he said.

Chinese official media today said it is high time India follow suit and Beijing could be a reliable partner for New Delhi to curb emissions.

"It is high time that the EU and India, the third – and the fourth-largest emitters, also show they mean business whenit comes to limiting the effects of climate change," it said.