Trudeau meeting Indian PM to discuss climate change ahead of COP21

VALETTA, Malta – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will sit down with his India counterpart Narendra Modi on Sunday night in Paris to make the case for a comprehensive climate change agreement.

Trudeau is departing a Commonwealth leaders summit in Malta where climate action dominated the agenda.

He’ll join leaders from more than 150 countries in France for the start of the UN’s two-week COP21 climate conference.

READ MORE: 5 questions about the Paris climate talks answered

India’s Modi took a pass on Malta and his country is seen as a significant impediment to a global climate change pact, given India’s refusal to rein in its galloping greenhouse gas emissions.

WATCH ABOVE: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that India needs to be part of the world climate change process.

India, the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has said its emissions could triple over the next 15 years as it expands coal-fired electricity generation to power a developing economy.

Trudeau told reporters he remains optimistic India will come onboard for the next, post-2020 climate pact being negotiated in Paris.

“India and others have repeated many times that they are committed to a successful, ambitious outcome in Paris,” said Trudeau, adding he plans to encourage Modi to “take clear action.”

The prime minister pointed to the $2.65 billion in funding he pledged for a UN climate fund Friday in Malta.

“Canada is committed to aiding developing countries in reaching their emissions goals. The atmosphere doesn’t care where carbon is emitted. It require us to take action all around the world,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Canada is committed to aiding developing countries in reaching their emissions goals. The atmosphere doesn't care where carbon is emitted. It require us to take action all around the world," he said.

Trudeau says citizens “are going to look very negatively at countries that don’t participate.

“For a concrete example of that we need look not look much further than our own story and the difficulty we had getting pipelines built because people didn’t believe we were taking our environmental responsibilities seriously.”