US climate envoy John Kerry in India for 3 days; clean energy transition in agenda

INTERNATIONAL DESK: US special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, will be in India on Sunday for a three-day visit in a bid to engage with Indian counterparts to address the climate crisis. He will also meet private sector leaders to discuss efforts to raise global climate ambition and speed India’s clean energy transition, the US state department said in a statement on Saturday.

During Kerry’s visit, India and the US will launch the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD). This is one of the two main tracks of the US-India Agenda 2030 Partnership that President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate in April this year.

The state department statement said that Kerry’s visit will bolster the US bilateral and multilateral climate efforts ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held from October 31 to November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

On August 24, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav called Kerry, during which 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.

Last month, PM Modi announced the India-US climate and clean energy partnership to help mobilise investments and enable green collaborations. “As a climate-responsible developing country, India welcomes partners to create templates of sustainable development in India. These can also help other developing countries, who need affordable access to green finance and clean technologies,” PM Modi said at the virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the US in August.

The US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership expects bilateral cooperation on strong actions in the current decade to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

As a part of the Paris Agreement, India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35 per cent from its 2005 levels by 2030 and have 40 per cent of its total installed power generation capacity from renewables by 2030, reports news agency PTI.