At a time of great uncertainty surrounding the final position the United States administration will adopt on the Paris Agreement, the 14th EU-India summit delivered a breath of fresh air, in New Delhi on Friday 6 October, on global efforts to combat climate change.
The EU and India confirmed their determination to push on with fully implementing the first universal climate agreement, cooperate with all parties to put the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into effect and to strengthen their bilateral partnership on clean energy and the climate.
The EU and India reiterate their respective commitments under the Paris Agreement, which they describe as “historic”, and underline their “highest political commitment” to the effective implementation of the Agreement in all its aspects, including, inter alia, mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity-building and transparency of actions and support.
India and the EU call on all parties to uphold the Paris Agreement, to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and to strengthen efforts over time, in accordance with the purpose and provisions of the Agreement.
The EU stated that it remained committed to the goal of developed countries to jointly mobilise US$100 billion annually by 2020 to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries. The EU and India emphasise the urgency of accelerating the implementation of pre-2020 commitments, including the ratification of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and mobilisation of means of implementation for developing countries and actions to build mutual trust among parties.
India and the EU also agreed to enhance their bilateral partnership and to improve cooperation in areas of mutual importance to the clean energy transition, including: implementation of climate action commitments, green cooling and sustainable refrigeration technologies, grid integrated solar pumping, offshore wind, energy storage technologies, next generation solar cells, electric mobility and advanced biofuels. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)