New joint actions, ‘no China influence’

Modi brushed aside suggestions that India was under pressure to deliver a China-like deal with US

As was being widely expected, India and the US strengthened their alliance on climate change and clean energy on Sunday, announcing a range of new joint actions that will increase energy access and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An India-US agreement on climate change had been in the air ever since the US and China made a landmark climate deal last year, even though both countries had made it clear that a China-like deal was not in the offing. That is how it remained in the end, with the two countries deepening their existing partnership but not making any dramatic announcements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi brushed aside suggestions that India was under pressure to deliver a China-like deal with the United States, saying the pressure was not from any country but from the nature of climate change itself.

“It is my feeling that the agreement that has been concluded between the United States and China does not impose any pressure on us. India is an independent country, and there is no pressure on us from any country or any person,” Modi said at the joint press conference with visiting Barack Obama, while acknowledging pressure from nature itself.

“Climate change is a huge pressure… All those who think about a better life and a better world for future generations… it is their duty to give a better life to the future generations…,” Modi said.

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