French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a panel discussion on raising climate ambitions in view of COP26, said– “On every continent, the effects of environment upheavals can already be felt, and they call for a massive, rapid and collective response. And, the fight against climate change is definitely the battle of the century, that’s why protecting Indo-French partnership is essential to protect the planet in my opinion.”
“The year 2021 is very crucial for our planet, with three of the COPs, particularly COP 26. The year 2021 is also our Indo-French year for the environment. Therefore, there is a very big window of opportunity that we must seize together. We have both decided that it is very important that India and France can assume leadership roles in the run-up to COP 26,” the French Foreign minister added, as reported by ANI.
However, he also warned that the objective of the Paris Agreement was to limit global warming to 2-degree Celsius or even 1.5-degree Celsius by the end of this period compared to the pre-industrial levels and, “if we do not succeed in doing so, the consequences will be disastrous.”
Highlighting the relations between the two countries, he said, “India and France have a pioneering role to play. Since the Paris Agreement, the nations have always been spearheaded on climate change and have established very close cooperation in this area.”
Moreover, Drian commended on India’s performance in climate change and said that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Prakash Javdekar had told him that India is ahead of the schedule in achieving the climate objectives that it set for itself following COP21. India is improving its energy efficiency and developing renewable energy at a remarkable speed.”
According to ANI, the French minister said that, “India is the French Development Agency’s top partner in the world. This underlines the strength of the cooperation that unites the two countries”.
