With India set to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change in New York on Friday on the occasion of Earth Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the nation to offer "reverence and gratitude" to mother earth, which has given mankind everything it needs for survival.
The Prime Minister took to micro-blogging site Twitter to convey his message. "On #EarthDay, reverence and gratitude to our planet that has given us everything," he tweeted.
Earth Day is being celebrated as an annual event on April 22 since 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The event is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
At a high-level ceremony convened by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar will sign the agreement. The agreement was adopted by more than 190 countries in the French capital in December last year.
India had advocated a strong and durable climate agreement based on the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Along with India, as many as 170 countries are expected to sign the agreement. The ceremony on Friday will set a record for international diplomacy as never before have so many countries inked an agreement on the first day of the signing period.
