NEW DELHI — President Obama arrived here on Sunday morning for a three-day visit aimed at forging agreements with India to work together to curb climate change and to break through an impasse that has blocked civilian nuclear cooperation for years.
Reinforcing his personal affinity for the president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke with protocol to meet Mr. Obama and Michelle Obama on the tarmac as they disembarked from Air Force One. The two leaders exchanged warm handshakes and a hug as they prepared for a pomp-filled visit that will include a national parade, a state dinner and a tree-planting ceremony.
Negotiators were working to clear the way for American companies to build civilian nuclear power plants in India. Mr. Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, sealed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with India, but it has been held up for years by a dispute over India’s liability law. The Indian news media reported Sunday that the two sides had made progress toward a breakthrough that would be announced later in the day.
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While India is the third-largest carbon polluter after China and the United States, it has traditionally argued that it should not have to limit its production of greenhouse gases because it is a developing country that historically has contributed little to the long-term problem and has hundreds of millions of people to lift out of poverty.
If Mr. Modi were to embrace the Paris process, the Obama administration and environmental groups have argued that it would be a significant shift that could build momentum for other countries to join the effort in a serious way. India is expected to issue a plan to reduce emission rates by June, and environmentalists hope that domestic backlash against urban pollution will pressure the government to be more ambitious, much as what happened in China.
Hari Kumar contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Coral Davenport from Washington.
