India Emerging As Global Leader In Renewable Energy Expansion: UN

NEW YORK, NY –With India “emerging as a global leader in renewable energy expansion”, the United Nations is organizing a roundtable on the matter, which ranks high among Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ priorities during his visit to New Delhi, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

The meeting of senior leaders from industry, finance, policy and civil society will “discuss renewable energy and energy transition, with India emerging as a global leader in renewable energy expansion”, Dujarric said.

He said the meeting “is part of the Secretary-General’s continued efforts to advance faster, fair and more inclusive global energy transition, aligned with the Paris Agreement”.

The meeting’s agenda is to come up with concrete steps towards these goals in a range of areas, including renewable energy development, strengthening the grid and storage, and mobilizing investment, Dujarric added.

India is committed to reducing its GDP emissions intensity of greenhouse gases by 2030 to a level of 45 per cent below 2005 levels, raising the share of non-fossil fuel electric power capacity to 50 per cent, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 billion tons to three billion tons.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said last week that India has already achieved nearly two-thirds of its nationally determined contributions in fighting climate change four years ahead of schedule.

India is funding its fight against climate change on its own and deploying its technology, she said at the Munich Security Conference.

“Six years ago, we were spending approximately 3.7 per cent of our GDP on climate action. Today, that figure is close to 5.6 per cent,” she said.

“We are not waiting for financing and technology to come from elsewhere — but they must come,” she said. (IANS)