On Thursday, India and the United States (US) launched the “India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership” at the US Leaders Summit on Climate convened by American President Joe Biden. The document furthers the two sides’ bilateral commitment towards meeting the goals set under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
According to a joint statement published following the announcement, the partnership will act as one of the “core venues” for bilateral collaboration on the issue of climate action and clean energy. Consequently, the US and India laid out “ambitious targets” for 2030 to set an example of how bilateral collaboration on the issue can align climate action goals with economic development.
The countries also committed to “finance and speed clean energy deployment; demonstrate and scale innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonize sectors including industry, transportation, power, and buildings; and build capacity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts”. To achieve this, they vowed to set up two platforms: the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue.
Moreover, individually, the US aimed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030. Meanwhile, India laid out its target of installing 450 GW of renewable energy in the same time period.
The decision to announce this partnership closely follows a visit by the US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry to India, during which he focussed on strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries, especially in relation to addressing climate change. During his trip, which concluded on April 8, Kerry met with various Indian government officials, including Prime Minister Modi, Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, and Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh.
According to a statement by the United States (US) Department of State, Kerry and Modi reiterated their combined commitment to “combat climate change” and to “creatively collaborate on a 2030 agenda for clean and green technologies in the service of the planet”. In this regard, Kerry highlighted American President Joe Biden’s support towards the “enduring comprehensive global strategic partnership with India and the importance of two of the world’s largest economies leading together on climate action”. The statement further said that the two sides agreed on the importance of bolstering bilateral cooperation on several related issues, including “energy storage, green hydrogen, clean industrial processes, and sustainable urbanisation and agriculture”.
However, despite these commitments to climate action, India and the US, alongside China, remain the world’s top three emitters of carbon dioxide.
India and US Announce Climate Deal at Biden-Led Leaders Summit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Joe Biden announced the launch of the bilateral Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership to further the global commitment to climate action.
April 23, 2021
SOURCE: NEWS 18