India announces major collaboration for Paris climate deal

Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Tuesday that India is working closely with countries including Brazil, China and South Africa to secure an "equitable and balanced" global climate deal in December.

An historic agreement is due to be signed in Paris at the UN Climate Change Conference that runs from November 30 to December 11.

Javadekar confirmed that the government will submit its post-2020 Climate Action Plan to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the coming weeks.

India’s Environment Minister said that the government taken up a "multi-stakeholder" dialogue to finalise the country's proposed greenhouse gas emission cuts.

Javadekar said: "Government of India has undertaken an elaborate multi- stakeholder consultation process for finalising its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for submission ahead of the expected date… A series of consultative meetings have been held with various ministries, think tanks, institutions, industry associations, NGOs and civil societies in this regard."

According to Javadekar, India has been working towards a "strong and ambitious" Paris agreement and has been implementing strong climate change initiatives.

Javadekar added: "India has been coordinating with G-77 and China, BASIC (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) group of countries and the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) for ensuring an equitable, comprehensive and balanced agreement in Paris."