France to engage with India on climate deal

As the chair of crucial conference on climate change in Paris this year, France will play the role of a "facilitator" in order to bridge the gap between various stakeholders to achieve a deal on carbon emissions.
France is planning to engage with India and other nations and help them "converge" for a "significant" result, official sources said, a day ahead of the visit of French Foriegn Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius and Environment Minister Segolene Royal.
"France will be the chair of CoP 21 (climate conference) and this gives us specific responsibility which is certainly not to put pressure on anybody but to bridge the gaps between the various stakeholders so as to help cast the final result.

"This will be explained by Foriegn Minister Laurent Fabius during his official visit. We conceive our role as one of a facilitator. We subscribe to the evaluations of the risk posed by climate change and carbon emission.
"We are doing our own job at home to reduce carbon emission. Clearly our aim of engaging with India and other countries to help everybody converge. We are here to listen, take into account and push for significant result in December," the sources said.
They also said that France was ready to share technology, for which consultations are being held between companies of both the countries on how to forge partnerships.

Official sources said that in this backdrop, it is important that France has already committed USD 1 billion to the Green Climte Fund.

On France declaring its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), the sources said that it will merge its contribution with that of European Union.
"We will merge our own contribution into European contribution. The European Union will come with one single contribution of 28 countries. We are working on it," the sources said.
France was taking measures like bringing new law on energy efficiency, sharp increase in renewable energy (wind and solar) and limiting carbon emission, the sources added.