Nawaz, Modi exchange pleasantries in Paris

“I had good discussions with the Indian Prime Minister in a good way, in a good environment and even they have expressed that we should take our issues forward”.

A visible exchange of warm vibes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “casual” encounter with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Paris Climate summit hinted at a thawing of the frozen ties.

Chinese president Xi Jinping said it was crucial that climate talks in Paris addressed economic differences between nations and allowed different countries to develop their own solutions to the problem of global warming.

The Prime Minister also said that convergence between economy, ecology and energy should define the future of the world. Next, they took a seat beside each other on a couch. While the focus at Le Bourget has been on climate change, there is little getting away from the November 13 terror attack in Paris. “Anything else would be morally wrong”, he wrote, adding: “Justice demands that, with what little carbon we can still safely burn, developing countries are allowed to grow”.

Sharif later told Indian and Pakistani journalists in Paris that he had a good conversation with Modi. “But we must also lead in combating climate change”, said Modi, while assuring 40 percent of India’s installed energy capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.

He added: “But, we in India face its consequences today”.

“The entire world, 196 nations, have come together to shape the future of this world and the health of our planet”, said Modi.

Modi is to launch a 122-country solar alliance with Hollande.

In a series of some 150 opening speeches at the heavily guarded facility on the outskirts of Paris, most heads of state and prime ministers offered condolences to their French hosts, pivoting quickly, sometimes awkwardly, to the climate talks.

The Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a group of business and philanthropy executives led by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who have a combined total of $350 billion in private wealth, have pledged to invest in moving clean-energy technologies from laboratories to the marketplace. Some of them are using the talks to announce substantial donations to help the cause of reducing emissions, developing alternative energy sources, conservation, and aiding poor and low-lying countries expected to be most affected by climate change.

“The progress on clean energy technology and costs is impressive”.