On Monday (13th Sep 2021), India and the United States announced a renewable energy finance project, as US Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry met with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and urged New Delhi to commit to net-zero carbon emission objectives during his two-day visit to the Capital.
The two presidents inaugurated the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue (CAFMD) — an India-US effort aimed at attracting investment and technology in clean energy projects — after an hour-long conversation in Delhi with Yadav. CAFMD is a component of the India-US Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership, which was launched in April this year at the Leaders’ Summit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.
Mr. Kerry stated, “The dialogue will facilitate finance and technology to achieve it. Over the past six months, the six largest banks in America have all publicly committed that over the next 10 years, they will invest a minimum of $4.16 trillion in this effort to make this transition happen.”
Kerry praised India’s leadership in pursuing sustainable energy and setting a goal of 450 gigawatts of renewables by 2030.
Further, he added, “India is a world leader in demonstrating economic development and clean energy can go hand in hand. I am confident that the 450 GW goal will be reached.”
However, the former US secretary of state, who is setting the framework for a major UN climate meeting in November, emphasized the need of all parties to the Paris Agreement committing to a net-zero emissions target by 2050.
Besides it, he asserted, invoking the findings of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released last month, “No country can do this alone & the world can’t do it if everybody doesn’t sign up to be part of the solution. That’s why we are rallying the world to address this massive challenge and to raise global ambition in the lead-up to the COP26 (UN climate change conference). Floods, forest fires, record levels of rainfall are happening everywhere. And to keep 1.5-degree warming limit in reach, and avoid more catastrophic consequences, we must act now.”
The first part of the IPCC report, which was based on 14,000 scientific papers reviewed by 234 experts, concluded that the world will miss its goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and that this target will be exceeded in the next two decades, resulting in increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. It urged for rapid action, including a transition away from fossil fuels, if the world wanted to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
India has promised to lower its emissions intensity of GDP by 33 percent to 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, as well as increase the non-fossil share of power generating capacity to 40 percent by 2030, as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Several other nations, notably Germany and UK climate chief Alok Sharma, have pressed New Delhi to commit to a net-zero carbon emissions target and improve its Paris accord targets ahead of the UNFCCC’s 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November.
New Delhi, on the other hand, believes that industrialized nations, who have historically contributed the most to global warming and gained the economic rewards of industrialization, should shoulder a greater share of the climate crises’ burden.
On Monday, Bhupender Yadav said India was committed to fighting climate crisis, but added that he hoped the world will take into account the needs of developing countries. “I believe this dialogue will not only strengthen India-US bilateral cooperation on climate and environment, but will also help demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities,” the environment minister said at the launch.
An expert on UN climate negotiations too said it will be “unfair” to have a “uniform” timeline for all countries on net-zero emissions. “Keeping equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities insight, it’s unfair to have uniform timelines for all economies to transition to net zero. The largest polluters with historical responsibility should transition by 2030 or 2040 and give the developing world time. China has committed to net zero emissions only by 2060,” the expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Kerry made the argument for net-zero emissions, claiming that transitioning to renewable energy is now economically possible for countries.
Mr. Kerry said, “It is cheaper to build a solar farm in India than anywhere else in the world. Investors are flocking to clean energy and energy transition rebounding after worst of the pandemic… the International Energy Agency forecasts that if India seizes the clean energy opportunity, it could become the world’s largest market for batteries and solar panels.”
“With COP26 around the corner, the visit of John Kerry and the launch of the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue, are steps in the direction of restoring trust between the developed countries and the Global South…. In 2010, India had less than 20 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. Today, it is the largest renewables market that follows market principles… For developed countries like the US, forging new partnerships with India, which would cover co-operation on climate-resilient infrastructure and green hydrogen, creating a joint platform for sustainable finance and building capacity in the Global South would be critical to accelerate the pace of the energy transition and convert climate ambition into action,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
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