Obama praises India’s ratification of Paris climate deal

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to ratify the agreement on Sunday in celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. The addition of the major polluting country is a huge step for the climate deal, which requires 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions to ratify the agreement.

The United Nations confirmed India’s entrance into the climate agreement on Sunday via Twitter.

India’s ratification of the agreement will ensure 62 countries accounting 52 percent of global carbon emissions have ratified the agreement. The European Union announced last week that it would ratify the agreement in November, which should put the deal over the final threshold and allow it to take effect.

In a tweet Sunday, President Obama praised India’s ratification of the agreement.

“Gandhiji believed in a world worthy of our children. In joining the Paris Agreement, Narendra Modi & the Indian people carry on that legacy,” he said.

India is the world’s third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, with about 5 percent of global emissions, and had been reluctant to sign it.

The Paris Agreement hopes to hold global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, a mark that scientists believe may be overly ambitious. Each of the 196 countries that signed the nonbinding deal had to come up with their own plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The United States’ contribution includes the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal power plants 30 percent by 2030. Many critics of the deal have wondered why the United States has made such promises when other countries, such as India and China, may not live up to their end of the bargain.

Other criticisms include the fact that the deal is not legally binding and has no formal punishment mechanism for countries that don’t abide by their emissions reductions plans. Critics also have ripped the agreement’s plan to send aid from rich countries to poorer countries to help them stave off the effects of climate change.

However, many environmentalists from around the world see the Paris Agreement as a vital first step in uniting the globe in addressing climate change. The countries that have signed the agreement will meet every five years to review their progress and possibly make increasingly bigger strides toward cutting down on carbon emissions. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for driving man-made climate change.