A special event on ‘Ambition to Impact: Opportunities for Global Collaboration in India’s Clean Energy Economy’ at the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE) 2021 was co-organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India; the Permanent Mission of India to the UN at New York, and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) yesterday.

The webinar showcased India’s efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda through a citizen-centric energy transition and focused on enhancing the speed of India’s clean energy deployment through global collaboration. It discussed the multilateral efforts required for this transition through conducive international policies, co-development of technologies, pooled finances for demonstrations, and investments to create markets and scale up deployment.

Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State, New and Renewable Energy, and Chemicals and Fertilizers, India, delivered the keynote address and noted that India is well on track to achieve its Paris Agreement NDCs of 40 per cent installed power capacity from non-fossil sources and reduction of emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent over 2005 levels by 2030.

Gracing the event, the Ambassador of Brazil, H.E. Mr André Aranha Corrêa do Lago and the Ambassador of Denmark H.E. Mr Freddy Svane, expressed strong support for India’s clean energy and climate action initiatives. Both dignitaries talked about ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation with India with targeted focus in the field of renewable energy. Both Brazil and Denmark are UN Global Champions for Energy Transition

Shri T. S. Tirumurti, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of India to the UN, in a video message, said that India is aiming to deliver universally accessible and sustainable energy at rational prices through several citizen-centric measures. He also noted that India is constantly engaging with international communities through global initiatives to achieve its targets. Shri Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, Secretary, MNRE spoke about India’s renewable energy achievements and the roadmap for future ambitions.

The event also featured a presentation and a documentary on the energy compacts submitted by the Government of India and other partners from the public and private sectors from India to the United Nations. Apart from the Government of India, Energy Compacts have been submitted by a wide range of Indian stakeholders, including utilities, Smart Cities, and corporates from the bioenergy, renewable energy, power, e-mobility, telecom, consumer goods and FMCG, food, cement and hard-to-abate sectors.

The Energy Compacts include those submitted by the Ministry of Railways; NTPC Ltd; Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd; and Smart Cities Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh; Indore, Madhya Pradesh; New Town Kolkata, West Bengal; Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra; Rourkela, Odisha; and Surat, Gujarat.

Corporate Energy Compacts include Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission; Ather Energy; Bharti Airtel; Heidelberg Cement; ITC Ltd.; J K Cement; JSW Cement; Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.; ReNew Power and UltraTech Cement.

Other dignitaries part of the event were Mr Dinesh D Jagdale, Joint Secretary, MNRE, India; Mr Debashis Sen, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman, New Town Kolkata Green Smart City Corporation Ltd; Ms Meghna Pal, WBCS (Exe), CEO, New Town Kolkata Green Smart City Corporation Ltd; Mr Davide Cirelli, Country Manager and CEO, Snam India; Mr Jamshed N. Cooper, Managing Director and CEO, Heidelberg Cement India; Ms Anita George, Executive Vice-President and Deputy Head, CDPQ Global; Mr Ranjit Gupta, CEO, Azure Power; Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW and Ms Shuva Raha, Head - New Initiatives, CEEW.

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MV/IG