Speaking on Paris Climate Treaty, Jairam Ramesh also added that India will have to shed its old mantras that its emission levels per capita are very low and that we did not contribute to global warming.

"We made a decisive break from these arguments in 2009 as no other country in the world has as much to lose as India on account of global warming," he said.

While addressing the audience he added, India is vulnerable as 60% of its agriculture depends on rain water. However, the quantity of the rain water has not reduced but the number of days has. Hence impacting the ground water recharging. He also said that the 10,000 odd Himalayan glaciers are diminishing, which will impact the rivers of North-India. The rising mean sea levels due to global warming would adversely affect India, as it has 7500 km coastal line.

"No other country in the world has these four vulnerabilities simultaneously. We must, therefore, demonstrate leadership on climate change. We should do what is in our interest and then hold ourselves internationally accountable to it. For the sake of India's political and economic interest we need to be pragmatic," the former minister said.

He said in the name of Ease of Doing Business, regulations are being eased and environmental concerns are being overlooked. “The most important reason to protect the environment is that there is no country in the world that is seeing a demographic expansion which India is witnessing," he said. ends