 "India ratifies Paris Agreement, but with caveats")
India will ratify the landmark Paris climate deal on Sunday to bring into force the agreement expected to give momentum to implementation of measures at international level to control global warming.
Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin will hand over signed documents to the head of UN treaty division at the opening of the special event to mark the International Day of Non-Violence.
The move comes after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to a proposal approved earlier by the government to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who believed in a minimum carbon footprint.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on September 25 said: "There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it."
Marking a moment in history, India had joined over 170 countries in signing the pact in April that brought together developing and developed nations for beginning work on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming.
The ratification by India, which has a population of over 1.2 billion, is expected to give momentum to the implementation of measures at the international level to control global warming.
Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday that "this (decision) was taken after a lot of deliberations and with a view to give the world a messege... India is fast becoming a super power".
India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter after the US and China which are responsible for around 40 per cent of the global carbon emissions, accounts for 4.1 per cent of global emissions.
Earlier this month, the US and China had formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.
The pact will come into force after it has been ratified by at least 55 countries which account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. So far, 61 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval, accounting for 47.8 per cent of global emissions.
With India's move, a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 per cent of emissions will have ratified the accord.
