India Agrees to Ratify Paris Climate Agreement; Limit Emissions

(Bloomberg) -- India agreed to ratify the Paris climate accord that will require the world’s fastest-growing economy to limit emissions and pave the way for implementation of the biggest step ever to combat global warming.

The deal will be formally ratified on Sunday, Environment Minister Anil Dave told reporters in New Delhi. Under the accord, India will reduce the intensity of fossil-fuel emissions, a measure of pollution released per unit of economic growth, by 33 percent to 35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

India, in its climate pledge -- also known as Intended Nationally Determined Contribution -- submitted to the United Nations last year on Oct. 2, estimated a cost of $2.5 trillion for its climate-action plan. India will ask developed countries to provide $100 billion per year in climate finance for poorer countries, the minister said. Commitments to the Green Climate Fund are at a little over $10 billion, Dave added.

Adopted last December, the Paris accord takes effect once at least 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global emissions ratify the deal and the first meeting of the parties to the agreement could take place during the Morocco round of negotiations next month.

So far 61 parties responsible for almost 48 percent of pollution have approved the accord. India accounts for about 4 percent of the pollution.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anindya Upadhyay in New Delhi at aupadhyay22@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Unni Krishnan, Steve Geimann