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The G20 Energy Transitions Working Group meeting in Goa took note of the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre and Global Biofuel Alliance proposed by India, a senior government official said here on Thursday.
Union power secretary Pankaj Agarwal, who chaired the meeting, told reporters that there has been significant convergence on hydrogen-related issues. The working group has taken note of the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre proposed by India and the Global Biofuel Alliance proposed to be launched by India, he said.
The meeting will conclude later in the day. There has been substantive meeting of minds on low-cost financing for energy transition. The Working Group has taken note of the voluntary action plan proposed by India for doubling of pace of energy efficiency by the year 2030, he said.
The ETWG meeting witnessed proactive engagement from more than 115 delegates representing G20 member countries and nine invitee countries, Agarwal said. The discussions centered around critical challenges related to climate change, sustainability, energy security, equitable energy access and financing in the context of global energy transitions, he said.
The meeting emphasized the urgent need for feasible, collaborative and accountable policy actions to accelerate global energy transitions while ensuring universal energy access and just, affordable, and inclusive energy transitions in line with achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The power secretary further said the G20 members arrived at a consensus on many incremental proposals put forth by India. Efforts are ongoing to negotiate further on remaining points, he added.
Affordable access to power and clean energy solutions was identified as a growing necessity, along with safeguarding the supply chains of critical materials to foster a more sustainable clean energy transition, he said. The secretary said that the outcome of the working group meeting will be presented to the Energy Ministers for the declaration during the Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting on July 22.
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He expressed optimism on reaching a balanced consensus among all G20 members to support and collaborate in accelerating Energy Transition. Ajay Tewari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, said that 28 countries are participating in the discussion.
There has already been consensus on various issues. All paragraphs of energy efficiency have been agreed upon. Voluntary Action Plan on doubling pace of energy efficiency by 2030 has been agreed upon, he said. Tewari said the importance of developing and widely adopting both existing and emerging clean technologies was underscored, including Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS), Green and Low Carbon hydrogen and its derivatives, biofuels, Small and Modular Reactors (SMRs), among others.
Participants recognized that technology cooperation and collaborative investment are vital to advance these initiatives successfully. We hope to arrive at something positive on green hydrogen consensus as well, he added. Tewari said the Indian presidency-led Energy Transitions Working Group will feature the release of 13 global studies focusing on advancing energy transitions, providing valuable insights and guidance for collective efforts in achieving transition goals.
Out of these, eight studies have already been released and the remaining five will be released during the coming days. The studies included topics such as low-cost finance for energy transition, renewable energy supply chain, vulnerability of supply chain of oil and gas energy sources, role of transnational grid interconnections, doubling pace of energy efficiency, importance of biofuels in energy mix, global best practices for just transition in coal sector and critical role of small and modular reactors in energy transition, he added.
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