New Delhi: United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Thursday said India and the US can come together to find new fuels and technologies to help deal with climate change.
He also hoped that the two nations build a partnership to accelerate the deployment of 450 gigawatts of renewable energy across India by 2030.
Participating in the sixth edition of the Raisina Dialogue, Kerry said there is a big appetite in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply committed to moving as fast as possible to living up to Paris responsibilities and beyond.
“I think these two great democracies have an opportunity to come together to harmonise some of our initiatives to find new fuels, new technologies — battery storage, direct carbon capture… whatever it is that is going to help us meet this challenge,” he said.
“We share a passion for innovation, research and technology… If India and the US come together, that’s a significant step forward,” said the US envoy on climate, who participated in the meet virtually.
Kerry emphasised that President Joe Biden’s upcoming virtual climate summit on April 22-23 is not an effort by the US to prove something.
“Knowing that we are seven months away from a major negotiation internationally, President Biden wants to assist in the process of raising ambitions of countries all around the world. That’s the reason for this summit,” he said.
President Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, to the virtual summit, scheduled between April 22 and April 23, to underscore the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate action.
Kerry said the 2021-2030 decade is “absolutely vital” for the world to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to achieve “net-zero” in 2050.
