International Cooperation To Play Key Role In Achieving India’s Net Zero Emissions Target By 2070: Jitendra Singh

Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, MoS PMO, and Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances, stated today that international cooperation will be vital to India attaining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Net Zero emissions objective by 2070.

“We all have a collective responsibility to work together for a more secure and sustainable future. The ever-growing challenges of climate change are beyond the control of one country, organization, company, or any individual effort,” said Jitendra Singh, during the website and logo launch event of the Joint 8th Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-8) and 14th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM-14). Jitendra Singh and Union Power and NRE Minister R. K. Singh jointly unveiled the website and logo.

The MI-8 will be held in India during the G20 Energy Transition (ET) Ministerial Summit in Goa from July 19-21, 2023. Ministers and heads of delegation from MI Member Countries, the European Union, and international organisations will attend the Mission Innovation Ministerial, as will select high-level invitees representing key stakeholders from industry, research, academia, citizen organisations, and global innovators. The theme of this year's ministerial is "Advancing the Continuum of R&D towards Pilot Demonstration on Clean Energy Technologies."

Jitendra Singh stated that, as India celebrates 75 years of independence, holding the Annual Ministerial Meeting of MI would be critical in putting our ambitious clean energy objectives into action while maintaining energy security and accessibility.

“Mission Innovation initiative is in line with our Hon’ble PM’s vision of national aspiration on India's climate action called Panchamrit, outlined during COP26,” he said.

According to the Panchamrit action plan, India aims to reach 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030, meet at least half of its energy needs with renewable energy by 2030, reduce CO2 emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030, reduce carbon intensity below 45 percent by 2030, and pave the way for a net-zero emissions target by 2070.

The phrase 'Mission Innovation' was coined by PM Narendra Modi. Mission Innovation (MI) is a worldwide project launched by 23 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) to accelerate the clean energy revolution and progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and net zero pathways. India was one of Mission Innovation's founding members. 

On November 30, 2015, the first phase of Mission Innovation (MI) (2015-2020) was announced at COP21, as world leaders gathered in Paris to commit to ambitious efforts to combat climate change. All member countries are putting in effort and are committed to doubling government funding on clean energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) over the next 5 years, as well as increasing international and private sector engagement, cooperation, and investments in clean energy programmes. 

A series of missions and an innovation platform have been developed to push the boundaries of innovation and reduce the cost of technology by fostering public-private collaboration in areas important to global clean energy transitions.

With the following active involvement, India remains a vital member and ally for MI2.0's ambitious climate and energy goals.

 Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, S&T; Shri Alok Kumar, Secretary, Power, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, MNRE, Abhay Bakre, DG, BEE, and Senior Officers were present. The gathering was addressed via video conference by the head of the CEM and MI Secretariat, as well as government delegates from 32 nations.