Paris pact: US trying to convince India

There is a concerted effort on the part of the United States to seek a common ground with India on climate change, the White House has said as it has taken up the issue of India being described as the biggest obstacle to a possible agreement in Paris.

“I don’t think I would describe them (India) as the biggest obstacle, necessarily,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. “Anytime you are negotiating an agreement with more than 180 countries, there are going to be a lot of issues to work through. But there’s no denying that there has been a concerted effort on the part of the United States, starting at the level of the President to seek common ground with India to reassure them about our commitment to investments moving forward, and helping countries adapt to the impacts of climate change,” Earnest said. Earlier, US President Barack Obama had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which they emphasised their “personal commitment” to secure a “strong” agreement.

The call from Obama came even as US Secretary of State John Kerry held a “positive and construc-tive” meeting with Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar at the ongoing climate change conference in Paris on various bilateral efforts made to reach a deal for limiting global warming.

India had come out very strongly against Kerry’s remark in an interview in which he had termed India as a “challenge” in the crucial climate change conference.