The Union Cabinet approved the signing of the Paris Agreement for dealing with climate change..

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of the Paris Agreement for dealing with climate change adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties held in Paris in December 2015.

Minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar, will sign the agreement on behalf of India on April 22, which is the Earth Day, at the high level signature ceremony convened by United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

"India had advocated a strong and durable climate agreement based on the principles and provisions of the Convention.

The Paris Agreement addresses all the important concerns and expectations of India," a press statement issued by the government said on Wednesday.

The Paris Agreement is meant to enhance the implementation of the UN convention on climate change. It recognises the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.

The agreement also recognises the developing countries' right to development and their efforts to harmonize development with environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable— one of the key issues raised by developing nations including India.

Some of the issues raised by India such as the importance of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption with developed countries taking the lead and the need for 'climate justice' also found reflection in the final agreement. Developing nations had also underlined the necessity of pre-2020 actions and the agreement now urges developed nations to scale up their level of financial support with a complete roadmap to achieve the goal of jointly providing $100 billion by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation and also to increase adaptation finance besides assisting with technology transfer to developing natios.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday also approved the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 to ensure expeditious utilisation of accumulated unspent amounts parked with ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which is currently about Rs 40,000 crore.

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