Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed his country will go “above and beyond” the 2015 Paris accord on combating climate change.
Speaking at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Modi described the agreement as part of “our duty to protect Mother Earth”.
Several global leaders have criticised President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the Paris accord.
Mr Trump said the deal would impoverish the US and cost American jobs.
The Paris agreement commits the US and 194 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and “endeavour to limit” them even more, to 1.5C.
China and the European Union have restated their commitment to the agreement, while Mr Macron called Mr Trump’s decision a “mistake both for the US and for our planet”.
Speaking after a meeting with Mr Macron, Mr Modi said France and India had “worked shoulder to shoulder” on the Paris accord.
“The Paris agreement is the common heritage of the world. It is a gift that this generation can give,” Mr Modi said.
India is the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, after China, the US and the EU.
