India And Us Walk Ahead On Climate Change And Clean Energy

After holding talks at the Hyderabad House, PM Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama addressed the press jointly Sunday. The joint address suggested that important discussions have been held between the two on the issues of clean energy and climate change. Later at night a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release reported that the President and the PM emphasised the critical importance of expanding clean energy research, development, manufacturing and deployment, which increases energy access and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The PIB release reported that India and the US have agreed on :

i. expanding Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), including extending funding for three existing research tracks of solar energy, building energy efficiency, and biofuels for an additional five years and launching a new track on smart grid and grid storage.

ii. expanding Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment (PACE-D) through increased bilateral engagements and further joint initiatives to expand cooperation in support of India's ambitious targets in renewable energy.

iii. increasing availability of U.S. Government official financing in the areas of market expansion and trade promotion, consistent with Indian policies.

iv. launching air quality cooperation by implementing EPA's AIR Now-International Programme and megacities partnerships, focused on disseminating information to help the urban dwellers to reduce their exposure to harmful levels of air pollution, and enable urban policy planners to implement corrective strategies for improving Ambient Air Quality in the cities keeping in view health and climate change co-benefits of these strategies.

v. initiating climate resilience tool development by jointly undertaking a partnership on climate resilience that will work to downscale international climate models for the Indian sub-continent to much higher resolution than currently available, assess climate risks at the sub-national level, work with local technical institutes on capacity building, and engage local decision-makers in the process of addressing climate information needs and informing planning and climate resilient sustainable development, including for India's State Action Plans.

vi. demonstrating clean energy and climate initiatives on the ground by undertaking additional pilot programmes and other collaborative projects in the areas of space cooling, super-efficient appliances, renewable energy storage, and smart grids.

The countries concluded negotiations on a five year MoU on energy security. This will be signed as early as possible at a mutually agreed upon date.

Earlier Modi said while addressing the press, "For President Obama and me, clean and renewable energy is a personal and national priority. We discussed our ambitious national efforts and goals to increase the use of clean and renewable energy. We also agreed to further enhance our excellent and innovative partnership in this area. I asked him to lead international efforts in making renewable energy more accessible and affordable to the world. President and I expressed hope for a successful Paris Conference on climate change this year."

They also agreed on the importance of working together on issues related to climate change and stressed the importance of working with other countries to conclude an ambitious climate agreement in Paris in 2015. To this end, they plan to cooperate closely over the next year to achieve a successful agreement in Paris. The President and Prime Minister reaffirmed their prior understanding from September 2014 concerning the phase down of Hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs) and agreed to cooperate on making concrete progress in the Montreal Protocol this year.

Modi said that climate change and global warming are pressing matters. The PM however clarified that understandings on the matters would be independent of US-China understandings. India is not under any pressure due to those understandings.

"India is a sovereign country. No pressure from any country or any person has any effect on it. But there is pressure. Pressure about what kind of earth we shall leave for our future generations. Climate Change itself is a very big pressure. Global Warming itself is a very big pressure. And whoever worries about the future generations, has a responsibility to be conscious about Climate Change; adopt practices and policies which will ensure a good life and good environment for future generations. I believe this pressure should be on every Government, every person. We understand and respond to the same pressure," said Modi.

The US has acknowledged India's growing role in the solar sector. The details of the discussions on clean energy however were not available immediately. But the warmth and cordiality of the personal relationship, apparent with the PM referring to the President as 'Barack', and the US President addressing the crowd in Hindi, pointed towards positive outcomes.

The most important focus of the joint address was the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, which has remained stalled for more than 6 years. While Obama clarified that understandings on two major issues on the nuclear deal have been made, Modi said that the deal has served as 'the centrepiece of our transformed relationship'. Later, it was revealed that understandings on the civil nuclear deal related to liability of suppliers and tracking of fuel by the US in case of an eventuality. India has proposed to create a special insurance pool to address any such calamity.

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