Enhancing India-Germany and EU Green Energy Partnership in the Indo-Pacific

Green energy transition presents significant opportunities for Europe-India cooperation. In the 15th India-European Summit in July 2020, the leaders endorsed “India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025” as a blueprint for strengthening future avenues. The common goals focused on security, prosperity, and sustainable development and broad themes included the focus towards a connection incorporating cooperation for a greener, cleaner and sustainable future. Further, the EU-India’s Leaders Meeting held in May 2021 (16th India- European Summit) again brought careful attention to address the problem of climate change and the subsequent need for actions concerning the deployment of renewable energy, efficient use of energy and a need for a step towards smart (electricity) grid, storage technology with the modernisation of the electricity market under the 2016 project of Clean Energy and Climate Partnership. In 2018, India joined hands with the International Solar Alliance for which the European Investment Bank has assisted with financial loans. The EU and India have set ambitious programmes and targets for wider adoption of green hydrogen. While India announced its National Hydrogen Mission last year, the EU launched the European Hydrogen Strategy in 2020. India has also initiated its discussion on the creation of the EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum for the next EU-India Energy Panel in 2022. Recently, Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan said that both India and the EU need to work together for a green future. He further mentioned that, “India’s role in green hydrogen is very important. We need to work together for a green future. We are both massively investing in renewables. It’s already happening and it’ll be fast.”

In this context, the G20 can be a critical catalyst for cooperation on the energy transition and climate action. The G20 countries not only account for a large share of Global GDP and trade, this grouping is also responsible for 81 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions and 77 percent of global energy consumption. Changes in energy consumption patterns in these countries have a significant impact on global energy markets as well as on the evolution of different technologies. COP26 saw India scale up its ambition with its updated goal of achieving 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and ensuring carbon neutrality by 2070. Yet a lot remains to be achieved if India is to embed green priorities in its domestic policy and international outreach. India’s G20 presidency in 2023 provides an ideal platform to mainstream the green transition in India’s policy priorities, and to ensure that the climate-related needs of the developing world shape the agenda at the leading forum for global governance. The G20 grouping represents about 60% of the world’s population and 80% of global GDP.  This is significant in the current context. A struggling economic recovery post the COVID-19 pandemic, a new war in Europe, and the paralysis of multilateral institutions like the UN and WTO is revealing the limits of the post-World War 2 international architecture. The G20 therefore, has a unique convening power in these uncertain times.

Against this background, the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi in collaboration with the India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is hosting a webinar on Green Energy Transmission in the Indo-Pacific and Potential for Partnership between India-Germany and the EU. The webinar is titled, ‘ Enhancing India-Germany and EU Green Energy Partnership in the Indo-Pacific’. For the purpose of the webinar the focus will be on India-Germany and EU potential for cooperation as well as the challenges this partnership faces. Given that India is set to take over the G20 presidency in 2023, this webinar will also explore as to how the India-Germany and EU partnership can help India in meeting its own targets, as well as how this partnership can leverage the goals and policy targets with regards to green transition of other G20 member countries. 

Programme 

3.00 PM – 3.10 PM | Opening Remarks

Mihir Swarup Sharma , Director, Centre for Economy and Growth, ORF, India

Pankaj Madan, Deputy Head – India Office, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

3.15 PM – 4.15 PM | Session 1: Potential for Green Energy Partnership in the Indo-Pacific 

Speakers: 

Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, German Marshall Fund, Germany

Lydia Powell, Distinguished Fellow, ORF Centre for Resource Management, India

Mannat Jaspal, Associate Fellow, ORF, India

Jens Marquardt, Research Associate, Technical University of Darmstadt, Institute of Political Science, Germany

Moderator: 

Mihir Swarup Sharma, Director, Centre for Economy and Growth, ORF, India

4.15 PM – 5.15 PM | Session 2: India’s G20 Presidency: A Catalyst to Boost Clean Energy and Climate Partnership in the Indo-Pacific 

Speakers: 

Neha Kumar , Programme Manager, Climate Bond Initiative, India

Promit Mookherjee, Associate Fellow ORF, India

Sylvia Elisabeth Beyer, Senior Energy Policy Analyst, Energy Policy and Security Division, International Energy Agency, France

Moderator: 

Lydia Powell, Distinguished Fellow, ORF, India