India rejects Trump charge that it linked Paris climate accord for aid

[FalconsForPeace]

India on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump's comments that it had linked its accession to the Paris climate control accord to receiving foreign aid and said it was committed to protecting the environment on its own.

Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement to cut emissions saying it undermined the US economy, cost US jobs, and put it at a disadvantage to other nations.

He also complained that China and India were getting favorable terms under the accord, saying New Delhi had made its participation contingent on receiving "billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid" from developed nations.

But Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said India was not in the Paris accord for money or because it had faced pressure from other countries.

"Anyone who says we have signed Paris because of the lure of money, I reject that as baseless. This is not the reality," she told reporters. "Our signature is not out of greed or fear."

India is the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. It has said it remained committed to carrying out its obligations under the accord despite the US pullout.

Developing nations agreed the 2015 Paris deal after the rich set a goal of raising climate finance from $100 billion a year from 2020 to help the poor limit greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to more heat waves, floods, storms and rising seas.

Some countries such as Ethiopia said Trump's decision would make things harder for the least developed nation, but there were no plans for anyone to quit the Paris pact.

Swaraj said India had a long tradition of respect for the environment. "Our commitment to the environment is 5,000 years old. We are a people who worship rivers, mountains, trees."

https://www.geo.tv/latest/144681-in...e-that-it-linked-paris-climate-accord-for-aid

 

[Naara-e-Mastana]

Maybe he is right .as China & inda is the two main reason of co2 emission but China have lots of money to tackle it unlike india .

 

[faithfulguy]

Maybe he is right .as China & inda is the two main reason of co2 emission but China have lots of money to tackle it unlike india .

True. India is very polluted for the amount of manufacturing and cars it has.

 

[JohnyD]

Trump is good for nothing.....

 

[Fledgingwings]

Trump comes up with something new everyday.looks like he has a menu for the entire year about what to say.

 

[Peshwa]

Could this be said for India's Muslims, Christians, & Sikhs (or even Buddhists)? Does the lady know what she is really saying here? If indeed rivers are goddesses, why are they so polluted - Ganges, for example?

Actually the Ganges is polluted partly because of that exact reason, that it's considered holy! The overuse of the river by millions who use it to bathe, cremate, use for religious purposes all across the lower run of the river has turned it into one of the most polluted rivers if not the most. Half the people who use it don't understand the adverse effect of the waste they create in the name of religion and practices. Educating them will be the first step to the clean up. Unfortunately I feel giving it a religious spin might be the only way to coax people into keeping it clean.

But I didnt quite understand what you were getting at with the religions bit?

 

[Chak Bamu]

Actually the Ganges is polluted partly because of that exact reason, that it's considered holy! The overuse of the river by millions who use it to bathe, cremate, use for religious purposes all across the lower run of the river has turned it into one of the most polluted rivers if not the most. Half the people who use it don't understand the adverse effect of the waste they create in the name of religion and practices. Educating them will be the first step to the clean up. Unfortunately I feel giving it a religious spin might be the only way to coax people into keeping it clean.

But I didnt quite understand what you were getting at with the religions bit?

India. She said India, not Hindus, when she had pointed to Hindu religious practice. Where does that put the minorities, who are sizable and not on the scale of 1-3%?

The rivers of subcontinent are polluted because South Asians have no sense in this matter. Pointing out religious value of rivers (for example) does nothing for the environment. MEA Sushma Swaraj was saying something just for the sake of saying something. And that makes it wrong on three levels. 1. India has a secular constitution and describing a religious practice as applicable to the whole nation is therefore problematic. 2. The statement does not reflect the ground reality in context. 3. Saying something just for same of saying something conveys a certain attitude which is unbecoming of someone who is a minister of a large multitudinous country.