Terming the Indo-US Joint Working Group as an "important platform" for addressing environment and sustainable development concerns, Environment minister Prakash Javadekar today said the group needs to work "very closely" and develop common understanding and balanced package for post 2020 period.
Javadekar today met the US Special Envoy Climate Change Todd Stern and discussed a sequence of events in the run up to the Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Paris next year which was followed by the first meeting of the India US Joint Working Group on combating Climate Change.
Stressing that both the countries have "experience and technologies", Javadekar said that the best practices can be shared by both the nations and hoped the joint partnership to go ahead and become "very active" cooperation partners in days to come.
"In view of the 2015 agreement on climate change, the group needed to work very closely and develop common understanding for ambitious and balanced package for post 2020 period. The Joint Working Group would also establish coordination on Mitigation and Adaptation aspects," he told reporters after the meeting.
"We can collaborate because essentially both countries have experience and different kinds of technologies. We can share many best practices," he said, adding he was confident that there would be some kind of agreed outcome which would limit the global temperature rise under two degrees Celsius.
Javadekar said the group may consider other issues related to phasing out of Hydro-fluoro carbon and may consider discussing both scientific and technical aspects of the issue to prepare a common strategy.
"The Group may consider other issues related to phase out of Hydro-fluoro carbon which is a green house gas but substitutes ozone depleting substance and has much higher GWP. The Working Group may consider discussing both scientific and technical aspects of the issue to prepare a common strategy," he said.
Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a "strong record of engagement" on clean energy and climate change in Gujarat, Stern said both countries were looking forward to "still more" important relationship going forward.
"There is obviously a new Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has a strong record of engagement on clean energy and climate change in Gujarat and who has already indicated in a number of ways the priorities that he intends to assign to these issues.
"US and India who have had a very constructive partnership on these issues in the past years have every basis for looking forward to still more important relationship going forward," he said.
