French President Takes A Dig At The US For Exiting The Climate Change Agreement

French President Emmanuel Macron, who co-chaired the ISA (International Solar Alliance) today with Indian PM Narendra Modi took the ISA stage to take a dig at the US. Although Macron did not take any specific names to point towards this, the indication was quite clear.

During his address, he said “PM Modi and I had a dream and we made it possible today. We are not like other countries that stopped in the middle and exited the Paris Climate Change Agreement.”

The crowd erupted into laughter and claps post this comment and Macron smirked from the stage.

US president Donald Trump had announced the exit from Paris Climate Change accord last year, citing that the conditions were unfavourable for the US, and would cost a lot of American jobs.

The exit is not in confirmed yet. Under the terms of the Paris accord, Trump will have to wait until November 2019 to formally submit his intention to exit. Then the country will enter a one-year waiting period before it’s formally removed. The decision could be reversed by the next president or even Trump himself. As a result, the issue could be at the forefront during the 2020 presidential election campaign.

The ISA was formally launched in New Delhi today and with the formal launch of the project, India has planned to generate 1000, GW of solar energy and raise 1 trillion dollars by 2030. The leaders have urged the private sector to join hands on the project to make it a success.

With ISA in place, India has ambitions of becoming a solar powerhouse and generate energy for more than 16 million homes by 2022.

The government has approved dozens of new solar plants, rooftop projects, and lighting systems, and is offering financial incentives to companies that build them.