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G20 Summit: PM Modi likely to launch Global Biofuel Alliance today
The alliance, conceptualised at the behest of India, is being positioned as a global forum to help boost demand and technology transfer for the production of biofuels and enhance trade
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may launch a Global Biofuel Alliance on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit, two officials aware of the development said on Saturday, adding that the announcement is expected around 5pm today.
However, the officials are apprehensive that Russia, China and Saudi Arabia may oppose the move because of their vested interests and geopolitical reasons.
Fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia will not like any such alliance happening at a big scale because that would go against their interests, one of them said. China would anyway not like India to take another lead in the climate discourse, he added.
The move made by India, the United States and Brazil as has already received expressions of interest from 19 countries, including both G20 and non-G20 countries, HT published a Mint report on this matter on Friday.
According to the report, the proposal for the alliance, however, has not forged a consensus among all G20 member countries.
With an eye on Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Plus grouping, of which both Saudi Arabia and Russia are a part, the alliance, conceptualised at the behest of India, is being positioned as a global forum to help boost demand and technology transfer for the production of biofuels and enhance trade.
India is also looking at enhancing its biofuel production through varied sources in a bid to reduce its import dependence for fuel at a time when the Opec+ grouping has resorted to successive production cuts, according to the Friday report.
