India came out strongly against calls for "flexibility" to ensure that the global compact in Paris should reflect the "economic realities" of the 21st century and to set aside the divisions (between industrialised and developing countries) of the past by reminding that there was another stark reality that poverty remains a major polluter. Speaking at the UN Climate Summit, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "the latest UN studies talk of over 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty despite gains made in the recent years. Therefore, this talk about changed realities can only be misleading and motivated."

Listing out the measures taken by India to address the impacts and challenges of climate change, Javadekar assured that New Delhi remains committed to "pursuing a path of sustainable development through eradication of poverty, both of income and energy." India's environment minister reminded the world leaders that developing countries could do much more if there was adequate financial and technology support.

The environment minister's address came on the heels of US President Barack Obama's call to the emerging economies to get off the sidelines and set aside the old divides. The United States made no new announcements either on efforts to reduce its carbon emissions neither did it make any new funding pledges. However, Obama said that he was directed all federal agencies to ensure all overseas development aid will need to factor in climate resilience.

Calling on emerging economies like China and India to act, Obama referred to the dynamic growth in the emerging economies in the recent years and with it the rising levels of carbon pollution in recent years. "It is those emerging economies that are likely to produce more and more carbon emissions in the years to come. So nobody can stand on the sidelines on this issues. We have to set aside the old divides."

Taking on the crucial issue of how to differentiate between developed and developing countries and the level of efforts that countries are obligated to make to tackle climate change, Obama said, "We have to raise our collective ambition, each of us doing what we can to confront this global challenge. This time, we need an agreement that reflects economic realities in the next decade and beyond. It must be ambitious — because that's what the scale of this challenge demands. It must be inclusive — because every country must play its part. And, yes, it must be flexible — because different nations have different circumstances."

The US president's call to emerging economies came even as he made no more than a statement that the US would put forward its post-2020 emission target. Obama said that the US was on target to meet its commitment to ensure that its carbon emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2020 — which works out to just 3 per cent reduction from 1990 levels.

If the US president's plan was to throw the gauntlet to the emerging countries saying "we have special responsibility to lead because that is what big nations do" then China stepped up. Though China, along with India, came in for criticism for the absence of their heads of government, Beijing announced that stole the show with its announcement that it would aim to cap emissions or have them peak "as early as possible".

"As a responsible major country, a major developing country, China will make even greater effort to address climate change and take on international responsibilities that are commensurate with our national conditions and actual capabilities," Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said.

"All countries need to follow the path of green and low carbon development that suits their national conditions, [and] set forth post-2020 actions in light of actual circumstances," Vice premier Zhang said echoing India's position on poverty eradication and development as primary goals for a country with large number of people living in poverty and without access to energy.

Funding climate change effort was in focus—the day long summit led to setting a goal of at least $10 billion for the capitalization of the Green Climate Fund. Six countries, including France, pledged $2.3 billion for the Fund's capitalization. Six other countries will make their contribution announcements in November. But intents reigned high on the day long summit—a new coalition of governments, business, finance, multilateral development banks and civil society leaders announced their intent to mobilise over $200 billion for financing low-carbon and climate-resilient development and the industrialised countries reiterated their intent to mobilize $100 billion from private and public sources by 2020.

The US president also brought up the issue of tackling short lived pollutants such as refrigerants gases like hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have high global warming potential even though these gases are not harmful to the ozone layer. India is one of the few countries that is objecting to a discussion on phasing out HFCs. Obama said that he has convened a group of private sector leaders who have agreed to do their part to slash consumption of HFCs, cutting down use by 80 percent by 2050. "More than 100 nations have agreed to launch talks to phase down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol -- the same agreement the world used successfully to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals," the US president said.

Highlights

- Many leaders, from all regions and all levels of economic development advocated for a peak in greenhouse gas emissions before 2020, dramatically reduced emissions thereafter, and climate neutrality in the second half of the century.

- European Union countries committed to a target of reducing emissions to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

- Leaders from more than 40 countries, 30 cities and dozens of corporations launched large-scale commitment to double the rate of global energy efficiency by 2030 through vehicle fuel efficiency, lighting, appliances, buildings and district energy.

- The New York Declaration on Forests, launched and supported by more than 150 partners, including 28 government, 8 subnational governments, 35 companies, 16 indigenous peoples groups, and 45 NGO and civil society groups, aims to halve the loss of natural forests globally by 2030.

- The transport sector brought substantial emissions reduction commitments linked to trains, public transportation, freight, aviation and electric cars.

- A new coalition of governments, business, finance, multilateral development banks and civil society leaders announced their intent to mobilise over $200 billion for financing low-carbon and climate-resilient development.

- Countries strongly reaffirmed their support for mobilising public and private finance to meet the $100 billion dollar goal per annum by 2020.

- Leaders expressed strong support for the Green Climate Fund and many called for the Fund's initial capitalization at an amount no less than $10 billion. There was a total of $2.3 billion in pledges to the Fund's initial capitalization from six countries. Six others committed to allocate contributions by November 2014.

- The European Union committed $3 billion for mitigation efforts in developing countries between 2014 and 2020.

- The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) announced that it is on track to increase direct green/climate financing to $100 billion a year for new climate finance activities by the end of 2015.

- Significant new announcements were made on support for South-South cooperation on climate change.

- Leaders from private finance called for the creation of an enabling environment to undertake the required investments in low-carbon climate resilient growth.

-Leading commercial banks announced their plans to issue $30 billion of Green Bonds by 2015, and announced their intention to increase the amount placed in climate-smart development to 10 times the current amount by 2020.

-A coalition of institutional investors, committed to decarbonizing $100 billion by December 2015 and to measure and disclose the carbon footprint of at least $500 billion in investments.

-The insurance industry committed to double its green investments to $84 billion by the end of 2015.

-Three major pension funds from North America and Europe announced plans to accelerate their investments in low-carbon investments across asset classes up to more than $31 billion by 2020.