By Manish Chand
ELAMU SCHOOL (MUNICH):The climate has literally changed at Schloss Elmau, Bavaria’s ultra-luxury alpine resort that hosts the G7 summit of the world’s wealthiest countries. It was unusually hot in the day here and in the evening the mountains were washed away by a torrent of rain, raising global attention to a looming climate emergency.
As German President Olaf Scholz raises the bar and pushes for a climate club of green nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending the G7 summit as a special guest, has held up India as a model for developing countries for taking decisive action to curb climate change. Blaming the rich world for the current global crisis, Modi urged rich countries to support India’s climate mitigation efforts and called for expanding the pro-planet Triple-P people group. “When a great country like India shows such ambition, other developing countries also follow suit. We hope that the wealthy G-7 countries will support India’s efforts,” he said during a session at the G7 climate and energy summit.
“Today, a huge market for clean energy technologies is emerging in India. G-7 countries can invest in research, innovation and manufacturing in this area. The scale that India can provide for each new technology can make this technology affordable for the whole world.
Referring to the launch of the Global Initiative for LiFE campaign last year, the Indian leader stressed that “the aim of this campaign is to encourage an environmentally friendly way of life”.
“We can call the supporters of this movement Triple-P, meaning ‘pro planet people’, and we should all take responsibility for increasing the number of Triple-P people in our own countries. This will be our greatest contribution to future generations.
With world leaders tuned in, Prime Minister Modi highlighted a host of pioneering steps India has taken for green growth, such as meeting the target of 10% ethanol blended in gasoline five months before the deadline and the objective of 40% energy capacity from non-fossil sources 9 years ahead of time.
Climate Club
German President Scholz leads the green offensive from the front. At the start of the summit, the German leader sought the support of G7 leaders for his pet idea of a “climate club” – a partnership of countries with the greatest climate policy ambitions around the world. As part of the climate club, Mr Scholz’s proposals include, among other things, putting a price on carbon, overhauling the industry and striking deals with developing countries to reduce the footprint carbon.
The European Union has backed the idea of a climate club, with EU Council President Charles Michel saying at the summit that the climate club could limit carbon leakage and complement the Paris agreement of 192 country.
“It’s necessary if we want to be serious,” said Michel, who said a climate club could help the world move beyond “beautiful declarations and declarations” into concrete actions.
On the issue of climate change, India is largely aligned with the G7 agenda. In his address to the G7 summit, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s commitment to decarbonization and increased renewable energy generation. Officials said India would support a proposal by the United States and Germany, on behalf of the G7, to set up an India-G7 partnership to finance and support India’s transition from an economy based on fossil fuels towards a carbon-neutral economy, confirmed.
Germany is set to be India’s leading partner in greening the economy. This emphasis on green and sustainable development partnership was again underlined during the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the German leader in the Bavarian resort. The two leaders discussed issues such as climate action, provision of climate finance and technology transfer. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Germany last month, the German leader announced a mammoth billion-dollar package to support India’s green transition.
India’s invitation to attend the G7 summit as a special guest is becoming a regular affair, underscoring India’s growing indispensability in solving global issues ranging from maintaining international order based on rules to combat terrorism and greenhouse gas emissions.
(The author is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network and India and The World magazine. He is Director of the Center for Global Insights India, a think tank focused on global affairs. He is in Munich to report and analyze the G7 summit. The opinions expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Reproduction of this content without permission is prohibited).
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