As India goes to bed on Friday night, world leaders from almost 170 countries would be signing a pact to keep the global temperature increase under 2 degree Celsius, in an effort to make the Paris climate change treaty operational within the year.

The pact needs at least 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent or more of the global emissions to become operational.

The Paris deal, reached in December 2015 following years of negotiations, has brought together and obtained promises from developed as well as developing countries to take visible and verifiable steps to curb climate change.

On Friday, also Earth Day, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (independent charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, addressed a debate on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include poverty eradication, health goals, education and others.

“Both of these (SDGs and Paris deal) provide an assurance to the 7 billion people of the world that there will be sustainable development on all fronts, and there will be justice for poorer sections of the societies and poorer countries,” Javadekar said.

India, which had been leading the developing countries on climate negotiation continues to stress on the need for fulfilling the $100 billion per annum for the Green Climate Fund that will be used by developing countries for adaptation and mitigation efforts.

However, though India and the world as a whole are celebrating the pact between countries previously warring over carbon space, environmentalists predict that the terms of the agreement are not going to be enough.

According to projections by the Climate Action Tracker, even after the deal the global rise in temperature would exceed 2.7 degree Celsius by 2100. In the business-as-usual scenario this would have exceeded 3.6 degree Celsius.

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