US President Barack Obama said carbon pollution is a threat to public health. (Reuters file photo)
Acknowledging that the Paris agreement on climate change is not perfect and not legally binding, US President Barack Obama said today that the mechanisms built into it will nevertheless hold every country accountable for meeting its commitments.
Describing himself as "passionate" about confronting climate change, Obama said few countries will see the effects more than India with melting Himalayan glaciers, more unpredictable monsoons and strong cyclones.
He had worked hard, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for a strong global agreement in Paris last month that will put the world on the path of a low-carbon future but also allowing developing nations like India to pursue development, growth and reduce poverty, Mr Obama told PTI in an interview in Washington.
He was answering a question on the criticism the Indian government faced for making "concessions" at the Paris conference because developed countries had no legal binding targets on finance or emission cuts.
Mr Obama responded by saying that no agreement, including the Paris one, was perfect.
"But we set out to craft an agreement that would attract the most ambitious action from the widest possible set of countries. And we succeeded.
"We have established the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis -- nearly 200 nations committing to their own specific targets, even as we take into account differences between countries.
"India, for example, has committed to the world's most ambitious target in renewables. And while it's true that the Paris agreement is not legally binding, it does include a strong system of transparency, including periodic reviews and independent assessments, to help hold every country accountable for meeting its commitments," the President said.
"Prime Minister Modi and I agree on the urgency that every nation needs to act. We also recognise that different countries are at different stages of development and therefore have different roles to play," he said.
Mr Obama also said that fighting climate change and harnessing clean energy will increasingly be a pillar of US- India relationship.
For example, he said, the US and India joined 18 other nations in Paris to launch Mission Innovation, a ground breaking new public private partnership to spark new research, development and investment, and help the nations create the clean energy jobs and industries.
"I believe that fighting climate change and harnessing clean energy will increasingly be a pillar of the US-India relationship," he said.
Moreover, carbon pollution is a threat to public health, and Indians like people everywhere, have the right to breathe clean air, he said.
The US, Mr Obama said, recognises its part in helping to create this problem and so was leading the global effort to combat it by reducing its own emissions.
Mr Obama said in India hundreds of millions of people do not have electricity and it would be an injustice to consign them to a future without power for schools, homes and businesses.
"We also have to unleash investment and innovation in new technologies that will allow more progress over time and pave the way to even more ambitious carbon reduction targets in the future," the US President said.