Significant R&D investment required as part of climate action: Yadav

Significant research and development investment, particularly from developed economies of Europe is required to decarbonise energy as a part of climate action in developing countries, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a session on 'Future of Sustainable Technologies in India-Europe Partnerships' organised by FICCI LEADS 2021 event on the theme 'Future of Partnerships', Yadav said that in any climate action, clean energy derived especially from renewable energy plays a vital role.

"We need to bring together the power of innovation across the world, with significant R&D investment, in particular, from developed economies of Europe. This would enable us to solve the challenge of decarbonising energy, as well as cement and steel, in a manner that is low on cost and allows for rapid deployment in developing economies," he said.

The minister said India has much to offer and share in terms of its experience with other countries embarking on a similar journey to address energy access issues, while also addressing the growing energy demand with renewable energy.

He also stressed that the private sector plays a pivotal role in creating low carbon sustainable economies and they should be encouraged to develop voluntary roadmaps for transition towards low carbon pathways.

"I also urge Indian companies especially in the hard to abate sectors like steel, cement, shipping, etc. to join 'Leadership Group for Industry Transition', a global initiative spearheaded by India and Sweden.

"Corporate action will remain the backbone of India's achievements for its climate goals, and I earnestly look forward to seeing active participation from more companies in the future," he said.

On collaborations with European countries, the minister said that India and Europe remain key economic partners who are all set to scale up their cooperation in the years to come.

"India has engaged in bilateral engagements with Germany, UK, and Denmark in the energy sector in the European Region. As a result of these engagements, many significant achievements could be made in the area of sustainable and green technologies," he said.

He elaborated on the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF), which was established in 2006 as an institutionalised energy dialogue with the aim of promoting Indo-German cooperation in the areas of energy security, energy efficiency, including energy conservation, renewable energy, investment in energy projects and collaborative research and development, considering the environmental challenges related to sustainable development.

On India and Denmark collaboration, he said both the countries had started working together in renewable energy sector in the late 1980s and last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen together launched a joint statement for the 'Establishment of a Green Strategic Partnership'.

"An action plan has been formulated as part of the 'Forward Action Plan' for India-UK collaboration on power, covering Power Sector Reforms Programme, New Partnership Programme on Smart Power, International Energy Agency (IEA) Clean Energy Transitions Programme, etc," he said.

The minister said there are many emerging sustainable technologies that can significantly contribute in India-Europe partnership such as Battery Storages, Green Hydrogen, Off Shore Wind Energy installation challenges or commissioning, Solar Photovoltaic, Solar Thermal, Waste to Energy/Bio Energy, Wind Energy, Hydrogen and Fuel Cells , Energy Storage, Tidal Energy, Geothermal Energy.

"Disposal of electronic devices, data warehousing, digital assets and uses of Blockchain technology are also some of the key areas that may encourage collaboration between the two nations," he added.

Yadav said that the biggest take away for all would be to collaborate towards jointly developing sustainable technologies across different sectors at an affordable cost.

"The presence of a highly skilled workforce in India and a well-established R&D infrastructure from Europe could well be harnessed productively for this purpose.

"However, developed countries should also provide lead markets for products of green technologies and drive down costs, such that these can be deployed in developing economies at scale, he said.

The issues of sustainable development, poverty eradication and climate justice which are important pillars of the Paris Agreement and also important to strengthen Indo-Europe collaboration on sustainable technologies, he said.