It would be an “immoral and criminal act” to spoil the environment for future generations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday and underlined the need to protect nature, as the Trump administration mulls to overturn the US’ position on the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Modi’s remarks came during a joint press interaction with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the two leaders agreed to continue cooperation towards the common aim of developing climate-friendly, efficient and sustainable solutions for India’s expanding energy needs and other areas of sustainable development.

Emphasising the importance of protecting nature, Modi said “playing with the well-being of future generations would be an immoral and criminal act.”

In response to a question on climate change, the prime minister reiterated India’s timeless values of nurturing and protecting nature.

Modi also recalled India’s commitment to generate 175 GigaWatts of energy from renewable sources by 2022.

later in a joint statement, Modi and Merkel expressed great appreciation for the successful cooperation on fostering renewable energies in India.

Building on existing formats of cooperation, the leaders reiterated their support to the Indo-German Climate and Renewables Alliance as an overarching alliance between India and Germany with the objective to give recognition to ongoing collaboration of various stakeholders on energy and climate change as well as to enhance cooperation and synergies in these fields.

They underlined the importance of the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) in contributing to the further development of the Indian energy sector.

“Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merkel reaffirmed the importance of the Indo-German Environment Forum (IGEnvF) in contributing to further cooperation on environmental issues, including biodiversity and climate change. They agreed to hold the next meeting of the Indo-German Environmental Forum in 2017 in New Delhi,” said a statement.