The Trade and Technology Council between India and EU can be used to collaborate and create a resilient form of industrial production – Frans Timmermans
The Trade and Technology Council between India and EU can be used to collaborate and create a resilient form of industrial production – Frans Timmermans
“The Climate Emergency does not have boundaries; it impacts the whole world. This is encapsulated by the credo India has set during its presidency of G20 – One World, One Family, One Future. This calls for all of us to come together to foster greater collaboration and enable greater access to technology and finance to make sure that the whole world can collectively progress in this important area”, said Mr Frans Timmermans, European Commission, Executive Vice President, European Green Deal, at the Plenary Session on “EU Green Deal and Potential Opportunities for EU – India Collaboration” of the CII Annual Session 2023 on 25 May 2023 in New Delhi.
He further added that “the cooperation between European Union and India should be focused on how we create the instrument that will allow us to transform our society and our economies in a way that we create sustainable jobs that create growth within planetary limits.” The need of the hour is to work collectively as one world to change the future. The rapid move worldwide towards sustainable energy is a huge opportunity and is very inspiring. We should be committed to collectively setting a goal on the international stage to determine the volume of renewable energy required to be generated in a certain timeframe. In order to get this done, we would need a full industrial supply chain to provide solar panels, wind turbines, electrolyzers, raw materials and technology with great stability, beyond national borders. The Trade and Technology Council between India and EU can be used to focus on this area to create a resilient form of industrial production that allows not only India and EU, but also other interested countries to collaborate, he added.
Mr Sanjiv Puri, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Industry, submitted that India is committed to Net Zero by 2070. The country has followed up its global commitments by strong action and is in line to meet commitments to the Paris Agreement and subsequently updated. There is an important and unique intervention by the Government of India called the LiFE Mission where we believe sustainability and sustainable future has to be built on sustainable consumption. Indian industry has undertaken a variety of initiatives to reduce their climate and environmental impacts. Some of the larger companies have committed to achieving net zero in the next 15-20 years. A majority of these initiatives are voluntary. While the industry continues to work relentlessly to adopt some of the solutions that are available today, there are also solutions and pathways that need to be discovered.
Ms Swati Salgaocar, Deputy Chairperson CII Western Region and President, VM Salgaocar & Brother said that “the transition to climate neutral economy, coupled with the emergence of technology like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning etc. has triggered a fundamental transformation in jobs and employment. India has a large number of startups working in EV and solar sectors. Innovation and R&D are also required in legacy industries. India & EU can collaborate for knowledge sharing and joint investment to promote innovation hubs. I think there is great potential for EU and India to work together in the areas of Green & Clean Technology Collaboration and skilling & capacity building”.