Climate action dialogue: US envoy lauds India’s leadership on renewable energy
Kerry lauded India’s leadership on renewable energy but also underlined that it is now imperative that all parties to the Paris Agreement commit to a net zero emissions target by 2050
India and US launched the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue on Monday -- a partnership to attract investment and technology in clean energy projects. The dialogue is one of the tracks to finance projects for climate change mitigation under the India US climate and clean energy agenda 2030.
US special envoy on climate John Kerry and Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav held an hour-long bilateral meeting before formally launching the initiative. Kerry lauded India’s leadership on renewable energy but also underlined that it is now imperative that all parties to the Paris Agreement commit to a net zero emissions target by 2050.
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“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report makes it clear that the world is not getting the job done. There is dangerous levels of warming .. there are fires, mudslides, droughts, record breaking rain like the rain day before yesterday in Delhi...floods that were occurring every 500 years are now occurring every 5-10 years,” he said, adding that “to avoid catastrophic climate change we must take action now and reach net zero by 2050. Is President Biden saying this? Or I am saying this? It’s not a matter of ideology or politics but of arithmetic and physics.”
Kerry said no country can address climate change alone and the world can’t do it if all countries don’t sign up for the challenge. He congratulated India on achieving 100 GW of renewable energy capacity and said the country has an ambitious target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. One of the focus areas of the dialogue will be to attract capital to deploy 450 GW of renewable energy in India.
“It is cheaper to build a solar farm in India than anywhere else in the world...the International Energy Agency has projected that India is likely to become the largest market for batteries and solar panels,” he said, adding that various public sector banks in US have committed 4.16 trillion dollars for clean energy transition.
Yadav said India already has an ambitious plan and is now committed to become an attractive destination for clean energy investment.
