On December 1, 2021, the 9th India-EU (European Union) Energy Panel held which was co-chaired by Reenat Sandhu, the Secretary of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (West), and Ms. Mechthild Worsdorfer, Deputy Director-General for Energy, European Commission (EC).
- During the meeting both sides agreed on a detailed work programme 2021-2023, to implement the 2016 India-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership.
Other Consents by India-EU:
i.The Energy Panel agreed on increased technical cooperation in the area of energy efficiency, renewable energy, green hydrogen, grid integration; storage, power market design, interconnection, cold chain, and sustainable financing.
ii.Both sides will undertake new studies, study visits and joint workshops, exchanging knowledge and best practices in the agreed areas.
iii.They will also jointly host India-EU offshore wind business and investment summit in the first half of 2022, with an exhibition of European and Indian companies, and sessions on decreasing the cost of offshore wind and of financing offshore wind
iv.Both sides will hold India-EU High-Level Platform on Smart Grid Replication; India-EU Hydrogen Forum; and India-EU Financing Investment in Clean Energy Platform.
v.Both sides will also explore further avenues to strengthen India-EU cooperation within the context of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
vi.They also agreed to exchange information on clean energy among G20 (Group of Twenty).
Points to be noted:
i.The EU recently funded an approximately 1 million Euro project, with an aim to further strengthen the engagement of the EU, its Member States, and its academic, business and financial communities with the ISA.
ii.India and the EU are closely cooperating on climate action and on ensuring affordable, clean and secure energy through India-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership as agreed at the India-EU Summit on March 30, 2016.
Recent Related News:
EC, the executive branch of EU proposed plans to impose World’s 1st ‘Carbon Border Tax’ from 2026 on imports of carbon-intensive goods, including steel, cement, fertilisers and aluminium as part of a programme to meet its new climate target (Reducing emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030).
About European Union:
It has 27 member states.
It has 24 official languages.
The United Kingdom (UK) withdrew from the EU on January31, 2020.
