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India unlikely to meet its climate change deadlines despite US belief to the contrary

Speed News Desk | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:50 IST

Government officials believe that India may not be able to stick to its emission deadlines on the climate change agreement made in Paris last year. Though officials at the White House have indicated that it is their understanding that India completes process during this year, India government officials said India is "unlikely to sign the agreement this year, or even the next."

According to foreign secretary S Jaishankar, the process is long and complicated. He told NDTV: "There are huge issues. It will impact on our electricity regulation, Motor Vehicles Act, power plants and airlines. There are cascading implications for very different segments."

The Paris Agreement can only take effect when at least 55 countries ratify it. Many countries including the US and China pledged to ratify the pact in 2016.

At a joint press conference after his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama said: "We discussed how we can, as quickly as possible, bring the Paris Agreement into force."

A joint statement that was issued shortly after the press conference said: "The United States reaffirms its commitment to join the agreement as soon as possible this year. India similarly has begun its processes to work toward this shared objective."

However, as Jaishankar said, the process in India is at the moment a work in progress.

First published: 8 June 2016, 7:45 IST