13 August 2022, NIICE Commentary 8185
Aditi Basu
India and USA have entered into various agreements in different areas such as trade, defence, transfer of technology, IT, Research and Development and climate change. They have been engaged in strategic partnership with each other to establish a rules-based international order as well as deploy clean energy and mobilise climate finance. The India-US Climate and Clean Agenda 2030 Partnership was signed by India and the USA in February 2021 to strengthen bilateral collaboration in climate change and clean energy within the year 2030. The agreement was launched by John Kerry, US Special Envoy to India, which was an important step towards strengthening of bilateral relationship between the two nations, just before the CoP26 held in Glasgow where the Indian Prime Minister announced his five-fold strategy or Panchamrit of dealing with climate change. Under this initiative, the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue (CAFMD) was also launched in April 2021 where India was applauded by the US Climate Envoy John Kerry for having achieved 100 GW of renewable energy, the target being 450 GW renewable energy by 2030. He also appreciated India’s economic development boosted up in consonance with its clean energy initiatives. In this, he assured India of the US support in clean energy.
The USA and its partners (especially the QUAD members namely India, Australia and Japan) need to offer more aid and technologies to enhance decarbonisation in the Indo-Pacific so as to attain its climate and geopolitical ambitions. In this case, India is strategically important for the US as its interests lay in India in terms of global decarbonisation. However, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the “dual priorities of decarbonisation” India is working in resolving its challenges of its clean energy transition in areas like grid development, market design and technological developments like Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in clean energy. The US, in the QUAD alliance, can offer support to India to reduce its reliance on conventional sources of energy and deploy a clean energy infrastructure. In this case, it would be in the interest of all the QUAD countries to develop transparency and security in energy markets which could speed up the process of decarbonisation in India. The QUAD has its focus on clean energy technologies, however, the necessary infrastructure needs to be deployed for the attainment of climate goals that affect the supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. If the QUAD countries, the US being the major, invest in sustainable supply chains in the region and finance the deployment of clean energy in India, it would grant a leverage for India to be more proactive in its process of clean energy transition and lend a boost to the process of decarbonisation in South Asia. This would, in turn, raise the status of the QUAD as a credible partner in clean energy technology and resilient supply chains.
As per the Joint Statement issued by the QUAD in May 2022, the leaders of the QUAD countries agreed to “steadfastly implement the Paris Agreement and deliver on the outcomes of the CoP 26” that implies a rapid mobilisation of climate finance, both in public and private spheres and more research and development to enhance climate actions in the Indo-Pacific region. The QUAD Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP) was launched to focus on building a green corridor that shall promote green shipping, reduce methane emissions from the natural gas sector and enhance clean hydrogen cooperation and clean energy supply chains. Steps would also be taken through the concerted efforts of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the development of an engagement strategy of climate information services with Pacific Island countries. Technologies involving clean ammonia fuel, advancing high integrity carbon markets (mentioned in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement), recycling carbon, climate-friendly agriculture and knowledge sharing for furthering actions on sustainability would be the underlying features of Q-CHAMP. It has been recommended by the Centre for American Progress (CAP) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) of India that the US – India Green Transition Finance Initiative would enable the mobilisation of private finance for India’s green energy. This includes robust investment in the power generation sector, electric automobile sector, lesser reliance on conventional sources of energy and many more.
As per a report released by the USAID (United States Agency for International Development), it is said, “USAID is working to help the Government of India achieve its goal of shifting the power sector to 40 percent non-fossil sources by 2030, and the national 175 gigawatt renewable energy deployment target by 2022”. It has also focused on its projects in the hazard-prone regions of India so as to establish a climate-resilient infrastructure. Added to this, it is also supporting India in reducing its reliance on coal and utilising other forms of non-conventional energy for its industrial, construction and household purposes. It has also joined the India-led International Solar Alliance so as to utilise solar energy through batteries, panels, cookers, water pumps which could minimise the consumption of electricity. This would improve the lives of all the citizens of the member countries, in general, and the marginalised communities in the rural sector, in particular.
The recently introduced Act in the House of Commons in the USA, namely, the Prioritising Clean Energy and Climate Cooperation with India Act, proposes to engage in partnership for attaining the clean energy targets of 2030, research and innovation for clean and renewable energy technologies, grid improvement, reduce carbon emissions and combat the adversities of climate change. It seeks to mitigate the Indian challenges of investment in clean technologies which would boost the US’ position to become “a leader in the clean energy revolution”. This would also increase Indian access to the electrical grid technologies. The Tesla Power of USA has agreed to install its 5000 two-wheeler electrolytic charging points in India for a sustainable environment.
Both the countries could collaborate to increase more transparency of climate assets for potential investors (green tagging), enhancing research in green energy technologies and capacity building measures. Short-term goals can be set so as to ensure a systematic and planned approach towards climate policies. This would also reduce the chances of huge economic risks by the private investors of both the countries in the form of cash flows “from solar assets by freeing up capital for new projects and developing a small guarantor facility that would underwrite the risks of such securities”. They could also provide for multilateral initiatives involving countries like Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea and utilising their natural resources in advancing technology to adapt to the climate change crisis. For example, Japan has immense quantities of timber and New Zealand titanium. Timber is useful for reducing carbon emissions in construction work by absorption and storage of a tonne per cubic metre while titanium is slowly taking over plastic, which in turn, means ocean cleanliness and reduced carbon emissions. To be precise, the efficient utilisation of the most abundant resource present in each country needs to be done by both the USA and India. The collaborative efforts of the Indian states towards green initiatives would be mobilised and presented before the USA to invite investment and the same approach could be adopted in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific region has huge numbers of coral reefs which are in the face of depletion and extinction. Both India and USA could work for the production of green fuel like green methanol that are environment friendly, their combustion creates minimum pollution and, at the same time, feasible in the long run.
The coral reefs on the sea shores of the Pacific Ocean, balancing the entire marine ecosystem, are also on the verge of decay. This is because the rise in temperatures for prolonged time, increasing marine plastic accumulation and frequent oil spills leads to their bleaching which ultimately leads to their death. Their death leads to the disruption of the life cycles of the undersea organisms. This is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. The decade of 2021-2030 has been declared as the “UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”. The UN has warned that, if not tackled with seriousness, the quantity of plastic would outnumber the number of fishes in the ocean. It was found out that the pandemic has led to an increase in the use of plastic in the form of PPE kits and PET bottles that ultimately find their way into the water bodies, posing a serious threat to aquatic lives. India and Japan are working towards tackling the issue. In this case, it would be an opportunity for the USA to provide technology and finance to India and Japan as members of the QUAD to keep the Indo-Pacific zone pollution-free and implement better waste management and disposal in the countries. Good ocean governance involving both India and the US along with the QUAD countries is the need of the hour else the increasing carbon footprint in the marine ecosystem shall become disastrous for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Finally, it can be said that the US has opportunities to invest in climate finance in India to help India achieve its environment goals by 2030 and a net zero by 2070, in consonance with the Panchamrit strategy. India owes a huge climate debt from the West as its per capita emissions remain comparatively low and has “not been a historical contributor to the GHG emissions.” India needs clean and affordable energy for development which shall be best through the non-conventional sources. The Indo-Pacific region is in dire need of ecological preservation and sustainability.
Aditi Basu holds her Masters in Political Science from Jamshedpur Women’s University, Jharkhand, India.
