India, United States pledge joint action on Paris Agreement and HFCs

Prime Minister Modi states intention to join Paris Agreement, but doesn’t commit to timeline -- EDF statement from Nathaniel Keohane, Vice President, Global Climate

June 7, 2016
Jennifer Andreassen, +1-202-572-3387, jandreassen@edf.org
(WASHINGTON — June 7, 2016)  At a state visit at the White House, Prime Minister Modi and President Obama announced a package of measures on climate change, including to “work toward” the “shared objective” of ensuring that the Paris Agreement on climate change enters into force this year, although India stopped short of a specific commitment to join the agreement this year. Prime Minister Modi and President Obama also pledged to work to adopt an agreement this year under the Montreal Protocol to phase down production of hydrofluorocarbons, or “HFCs” — chemicals used in air conditioning and refrigeration that are extremely potent climate pollutants. They also said they would work together “to reach a successful outcome to address greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation” at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Assembly in September.
 
“It is heartening to see the world’s two largest democracies – and second and third largest sources of climate pollution – agree on the urgency of addressing climate change, the effects of which are already apparent in both India and America. The agreement to bring HFCs under the Montreal Protocol in particular is a vitally important step that will prevent emission of the equivalent of billions of tons of climate pollutants over the coming decades.
 
“Today’s announcement bolsters efforts to bring the Paris Agreement into force as soon as possible – a crucial step to getting the world on a path to a stable climate. The sooner India joins the agreement – ideally this year – the stronger will be the signal to the rest of the world, and the greater the boost for climate action.
 
“India’s pledge to work to a successful outcome in ICAO is also welcome. The measure of success will be a strong agreement this year on a market-based measure to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020, with a pathway to cut aviation emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
 
“As India’s economy expands, its carbon footprint is growing faster than that of any other country. The question for India and for the world is: As India seeks to develop its economy, provide energy access to its people, and lift millions out of poverty, will it follow the carbon-intensive growth path of the West – or chart a new path to low-carbon prosperity?”
 
EDF has been on the ground in India for the past six years and with partners has been developing and testing scalable models for deploying renewable energy access and clean cooking systems to rural communities. We are also working to improve farm productivity while also reducing emissions from this sector. This effort reaches over 300,000 households in eight states.

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