John Kerry expected to visit India in Sept to partnership with US on clean energy

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC), John Kerry is expected to visit India next month to boost the India-US partnership on clean energy, an Indian government statement said on Tuesday.  

The visit, the second by Kerry since being named special envoy by US president Joe Biden, to expected to happen ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference to be hosted by the UK in November. Kerry had earlier visited New Delhi in April. 

The Indian government’s announcement of Kerry’s likely visit followed a phone conversation between Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, BhupenderYadav and Kerry. The aim of the call was to further the “climate action and finance mobilization dialogue” under the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership, the government statement said.  

“Both sides agreed that India and the US, will engage for a constructive engagement under the ‘India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.’ The Environment Minister stated that these platforms provide greater opportunities for working together for climate actions and emphasized that India stands committed to working with the US on Clean Energy,” the Indian statement said. 

Kerry on his part spoke about the launch of climate action and finance mobilization dialogue as a part of the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership “to enhance actions in the current decade to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement,” the statement said.  

“Kerry is likely to visit India in the month of September to further India-US partnership on Clean Energy,” it added. 

 Climate change mitigation is seen as one of the key pillars of the foreign policy of US president Biden. The US president had organized a summit of world leaders on the subject in April in which Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had taken part. 

Earlier in the day, speaking at an event organized by The Energy and Resources Institute, Yadav said that India was on “track to achieve and even exceed its targets (Nationally Determined Contributions) under Paris Agreement, for combating climate change.” 

India’s climate actions were rated highly in many independent assessments, the minister said adding that “India has achieved reduction of 24% in emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2016, thereby achieving its pre-2020 voluntary target.” 

While outlining the steps that India had taken to bring down its emissions of green house gases, the minister said that “these examples also highlight the need for a more responsive multilateral approach, in which all countries take their fair share of burden in responding to the global threat of climate change.” 

“Often, we see very complex and contested discourse on climate change,” he said.   

“Equitable carbon and development space to achieve sustainable development required due consideration to principles of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)’ and ‘polluters pay,’” the minister said.  

“Developing countries are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to dependence of a large population on climate sensitive sectors for livelihoods,” he said. 

“Long term strategies need to be guided by not only mitigation but also by climate adaptation with clear roadmap for provision of finance and technology. There is need for sustainable lifestyles as extravagant patterns of consumerism are grave threats to the environment,” the minister added.