EPA defends Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement

Washington: The Paris climate pact did not hold countries like India accountable on greenhouse emissions as they did not have to take steps until they received USD 2.5 trillion in aid, a top US official said on Tuesday."When you look at the decision made in Paris, Russia, India, China.. . India didn't have to take any steps until they received USD 2.5 trillion of aid. China didn't take any steps until the year 2030. We front-loaded all of our costs, costing jobs, up to 400,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector alone," said Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt.Pruitt said this in an interview to MSNBC a day after India strongly refuted American allegations that India's actions on climate change was contingent upon it receiving aid."Anyone who suggests that we signed the Paris Agreement for money or under pressure is absolutely wrong. We did not. And whether America remains in it or not, we will stay in it," Swaraj told reporters at a news conference in New Delhi on Monday.