Modi leaves for crucial Paris climate summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left for Paris to attend the world summit on climate change. He will join some 140 heads of nations in climate change negotiations and also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders.

The summit under the aegis of the United Nations that kicks off today in Paris, which is under the shadow of the deadly terror attack, will try to craft a long-term deal to limit carbon emissions.

As Modi headed to the French capital setting the tone for the summit with his remark on Sunday that it is the responsibility of all to work against global warming, UN chief Ban Ki-moon underlined the need for a durable universal deal to address rising greenhouse gas emissions.

In his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi said global warming is already creating disasters like recent heavy rainfall in Chennai, and urged people to adopt energy conservation and energy efficiency measures like the maximum use of solar-powered items.

Modi recalled his proposal for setting up a SAARC disaster response mechanism and said the recently-held ''table talk exercise and best practices seminar'' in Delhi was a good beginning in this regard.

"We keep receiving news about the natural disasters from every corner of the world. Such are the tragedies which have never been heard earlier or imagined. We are now experiencing the impact of fast-changing climate. In our own country, massive rains recently hit Tamil Nadu and caused losses to it as well as other states. Several people lost their lives. I offer my condolences to them," he said.

"The whole world is worried about climate change. There are discussions everywhere over it and concerns are being expressed. There is acceptance for it (climate change) as an index before any work is done. The temperature of the Earth should not increase now. It is the responsibility and concern of all," he said in his 20-minute programme.

His emphasis on the responsibility of all assumes significance as the developed world is placing greater onus on developing nations like India in the fight against climate change.

India has been maintaining that the developed countries have been the major polluters over centuries and should assume greater role in fighting global warming by funding and transferring low-cost technology to developing nations

Besides Modi, other leaders, including US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin will attend the official start of the UN conference, which is tasked with reaching the first truly universal climate pact. The Paris Climate Conference from 30 November to 11 December will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2 degree C.