EU and India agree clean energy deal
The EU will support India with its clean energy targets after an agreement was reached at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday
The European Union will support India with its clean energy targets after an agreement was reached at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
In a joint statement, the EU and India pledged to cooperate on integrating India’s electricity grid with solar energy parks, support the development of smart grids and assist in the planning of its first offshore wind array.
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the Clean Energy and Climate Partnership at the first EU-India summit in four years.
The joint statement highlighted a “common interest to promote clean energy generation and increased energy efficiency for climate action.”
India, the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has set targets to cut carbon and increase renewable energy generation on a large scale as part of its commitment to the COP21 Paris Agreement.
The Indian government needs an estimated $2.5 trillion in support and access to technology in order to meet a goal for 40 per cent of its electricity to come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
India and France inaugurated a new solar power alliance in January which includes over 100 solar-rich countries.
Bharath Jairaj, an analyst at World Resources Institute India, said: “There have been several bilateral connections happen with member countries. Prime Minister Modi is now hoping for full EU support… The bottom line is that this trip is about several things and not just clean energy, but it’s an area of common interest.”
Under the new agreement, he EU and India will enhance cooperation on the solar alliance and Mission Innovation, a 20-country initiative to double clean energy research spending in five years.
