By Elishya Perera
WASHINGTON (CU)_Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (22 April) announced a partnership between New Delhi and Washington on clean energy and climate action.
Participating in the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by the United States, PM Modi said the alliance would enable the two countries to mobilise investments and demonstrate clean technologies. It could also be treated as a template for climate cooperation in assisting developing nations to access clean technology and green finance, he noted.
Under the new partnership, the US and India have agreed to collaborate on carbon capture and storage, storage of energy, production of green hydrogen and other innovations for energy transition. This partnership is expected to assist India in reaching the most ambitious energy goal in the world; producing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy, such as wind, solar and biomass, by 2030.
US President Joe Biden also acknowledged the new partnership on Friday, describing it as a “core pillar” of bilateral relations between the two countries.
In his concluding remarks at the virtual climate conference, President Biden said: “I am looking forward to working with India’s Prime Minister Modi in a new partnership to achieve our climate and energy goals, making this a core pillar of our bilateral cooperation.”
He also urged countries to invest in innovation and technology to overcome the climate crisis, and called on his fellow leaders to ensure that the enhanced climate goals pledged during the summit are achieved as promised
Acknowledging Washington’s efforts to lead global initiatives on climate action, UN Executive Secretary on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, said: “This Summit, hosted by US President Biden, which brought together more than 40 nations representing 80% of global emissions, is an encouraging and positive step in the right direction.” She urged the countries to carry this momentum forward to the crucial UN climate talks (COP26) scheduled to be held in Glasgow in November.
During the two-day summit which concluded on Friday, Canada, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Argentina also joined the US in announcing enhanced climate goals to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century.
