Tag Archives: paris agreement

India and Finland sign MOU for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation

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India and Finland on Thursday, Nov 26, 2020 signed an MOU for developing cooperation between two countries in the field of Environment protection and biodiversity conservation. 

The MoU is a platform to further advance Indian and Finnish partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of Air and water pollution; Waste management; Promotion of circular economy, low-carbon solutions and sustainable management of natural resources including forests; Climate change; Conservation of Marine and Coastal Resources; etc.

The MoU was signed virtually by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from the Indian side and Krista Mikkonen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Government of Finland from the Finnish side.

Speaking at the event Javadekar said that the MoU also provides the possibility to have joint projects in areas of mutual interest. “This MOU will definitely commits us to work together more closely towards on the fulfilment of commitments made under Paris Agreement.”, said the Environment Minister.

Javadekar also informed that India has achieved its voluntary target of reducing emissions intensity of its GDP by 21% over 2005 levels, by 2020 and is poised to achieve 35% reduction well before the target year of 2030.

As part of its Nationally Determined Contributions submitted under the Paris Agreement , India has taken three quantitative climate change goals viz. reduction in the emissions intensity of Gross Domestic Product  by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level, achieving about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 and creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

The MoU will strengthen technological, scientific and management capabilities and develop bilateral cooperation in the field of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit with due respect to promotion of sustainable development.

 

India’s Bid to Buy $2 Billion Drones May Yield Positive Offers From Tough-Talking Trump Admin

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Within a couple of hours from now, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet US President Donald Trump for their first one-on-one exchange at the White House that may last for 20 minutes to be followed by respective delegations joining the bilateral discussions.

The carrots are already flying in each other’s direction with the US declaring Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, a move that vindicates India’s stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. In return, what India offers will be seen at a joint press meeting four hours later.

Otherwise, in display of special relations with India, the White House will host a dinner for PM Modi, which is the first for a foreign dignitary by President Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump. Vice President Mike Pence will host a cocktail reception prior to it though.

Trump has sent out friendly gestures describing Prime Minister Modi as a “true friend!”, which could be an indication that the White House is pleased with India’s bid to place an order for $2 billion worth 22 drones for use in Southeast Asian corridor, squarely aimed at China and the growing unease over the South China Sea.

The delegation level meetings are being attended by top Indian officials including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna, while the US side will be represented by Vice President Mike Pence, Defence Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor Lt Gen HR McMaster.

India is keen that Washington DC increases its troops to at least 5,000 more in Afghanistan in the wake of recent attacks on US and Indian embassies and repeated terrorist attacks in Kabul, among others.

What both sides want to avoid is a direct confrontation on Trump administration’s recent decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement and Modi has not uttered a word against Trump so far and may not raise it in his one-on-one meeting either.

Another contentious issue that has to crop up is the H1 B visa that many IT companies, NASCOM and ASSOCHAM have urged Modi to raise during the meeting with Trump. It remains to be seen whether the US administration seeks to dilute its stand or offer some other olive branch in the form of a temporary relief.

If that happens, Modi will be a happy man to return home thumping on his success. But knowing Trump, some surprises will always pop up from his magic box at the most unexpected time and venue.

Delegates for Commonwealth Auditors General Conference Meet President

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The delegates participating in the Commonwealth Auditors General Conference called on the President of India, Mr Pranab Mukherjee today (March 23, 2017) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President expressed happiness that the multilateral forum of Auditors General of Commonwealth countries has met in India this year to discuss contemporary issues of relevance to the member Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). He said that audit being a knowledge based activity, such interactions, sharing of knowledge, experiences, best practices would be mutually beneficial to all members of SAI.

The President said that in India, the office of the CAG has been established by the Constitution of India. Government Audit plays an important role in the scheme of parliamentary financial control.

The President said that it is praiseworthy that the delegates are engaging in fruitful deliberations on two very relevant contemporary themes, chosen for this Conference i.e. leveraging technology and environment audit. On global and national level – technology and environment have become the key drivers for formulating strategies to address a host of issues.

Technology has enabled faster communication, easy access to knowledge and information and facilitated efficient delivery of public services to citizens. Environment degradation and climate change along with their debilitating impact on our well being and of future generations are global concerns.

Such concerns have led to positive action in the nature of Paris Agreement and other global treaties. Environment not only affects our well-being, its degradation threatens the very existence of several small island nations.

Given the importance of technology and environment in today’s world, the SAIs will have to remain in the forefront in these fields. They have an important role to play in ensuring that the nations meet their commitments on environment treaties and leverage technology to provide high quality services to the citizens.

The President hoped that the exchange of views and sharing of experiences at the Conference would help in providing future guidance not just to Commonwealth Countries but many other countries of the world.

Indian Cabinet Approves International Solar Alliance

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The Indian Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the proposal of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for ratification of ISA’s Framework Agreement by India.

ISA was launched jointly by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France on 30th November, 2015 at Paris on the side-lines of the 21st CoP meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The ISA will strive to bring together more than 121 solar resource rich nations for coordinated research, low cost financing and rapid deployment.

The foundation stone of the ISA Headquarters was laid at Gwal Pahari, Guragaon in Haryana. India has already committed the required support of operationalization of ISA. ISA will put India globally in a leadership role in climate and renewable energy issues. It will also give a platform to showcase its solar programmes.

The Agreement was opened for signature on the sidelines of 22nd CoP meeting at Marrakesh, Morocco. The Agreement invokes the Paris Declaration on ISA and encapsulates the vision of the prospective member nations. UNDP and World Bank have already announced their partnership with the ISA. Till now, 25 nations have signed the Framework Agreement.