On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change on October 2, Manish Singh reports for Mashable. Modi added that the October 2 date was chosen to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who lived his whole life with a minimal carbon footprint.

“There is one work left in the COP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,” Modi said.

India represents 4.5% of the world’s emissions, which would help to close the gap on the Paris Agreement threshold of 55% of the world’s emissions, required for the climate accord to enter into force. Currently, 61 countries representing 48% of the world’s emissions have formally joined the agreement, so India’s commitment will bring the agreement to within 2.5% of global emissions for entry into force.

Singh reports that “[t]he Indian government took additional time to announce its stand because it wanted to complete some projects. These projects, many of which are heavily relying on usage of fossil fuels, will need amendments when the country complies with the Paris Agreement climate pact guidelines.”

Image: Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is received by the President of France, Francois Hollande, on his arrival for the COP21 climate conference, in Paris, France on November 30, 2015