Expanding ecological partnership: India-France to launch Year of Environment

India-France to Launch Year of Environment

Eyeing to widen cooperation in the fight against climate change Minister for Ecological Transition of France, Barbara Pompili, will be in India on a five-day visit to deepen Indo-French cooperation on sustainable development, particularly renewable energy, biodiversity conservation, smart cities, and plastic waste management.

NEW DELHI: Eyeing to widen cooperation in the fight against climate change Minister for Ecological Transition of France, Barbara Pompili, will be in India on a five-day visit to deepen Indo-French cooperation on sustainable development, particularly renewable energy, biodiversity conservation, smart cities, and plastic waste management.

Minister Pompili will thus hold discussions with Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, focusing on climate challenges, the global mobilization for the protection of biodiversity, air pollution and a joint initiative on single-use plastic. The two ministers will then launch the India-France Year of the Environment, officials informed.

This initiative aims to further amplify the cooperation between the two countries on these issues and jointly foster the global momentum throughout 2021 – a year that will be key for the fight against climate change and the erosion of biodiversity.

Pompili will also meet her Indian counterpart in the Ministry of Power, and New and Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh, for talks on joint efforts to promote renewable energy and smart grids. In particular, the two Ministers will discuss the strengthening and universalisation of the International Solar Alliance, an international organisation initiated by France and India, as well as prospects for bilateral technical cooperation on high-efficiency solar panels and new investments from French companies in solar power projects and smart grids in India.

The two Ministers will also preside over the signing of a Letter of Intent between SECI and AFD (French Development Agency) for developing a floating solar plant of up to 150 MW.

With Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (IC) of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Civil Aviation, Pompili will discuss further collaboration on Smart Cities, mobility, water and waste management. The two Ministers will also touch upon civil aviation and the conditions for smooth resumption of activities after the pandemic.

In line with France’s commitment to supporting sustainable and green urban mobility in India, the AFD will sign a Credit Facility Agreement with the Ministry of Finance to provide 250M euros of funding for the Surat metro rail project.

The French Minister will also visit Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, one of the sites of the Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC). The French Development Agency has been working with the State of Assam since 2012, providing financial and technical assistance to APFBC to support the state’s biodiversity conservation efforts, sustainable and participatory management of forests and the creation of alternate livelihoods for forest-dependent communities.

In the wake of the One Planet Summit held in Paris on January 11, Pompili will highlight the potential of Indo-French cooperation to spur international efforts for biodiversity protection. She will also meet local communities who have benefited from skill development programmes to develop alternative livelihoods.

At IIT-Guwahati, the Minister will interact with researchers of the Centre of Excellence-Sustainable Polymers, credited with having developed India’s first biodegradable plastic.

The Minister will also travel to Surat for discussions with Indian and French players involved in smart mobility and sustainable urban development projects. She will reiterate France’s commitment to contributing to India’s Smart Cities Mission, through the expertise of French companies and financing from AFD and the European Union. The Minister will also meet local actors that are developing innovative solutions for plastic waste management and combatting air pollution.

In the course of her trip, Pompili will brainstorm with leading Indian think tanks, and companies working on climate change and clean energy and meet with French alternative energy majors and SMEs active in India to urge them to further boost their involvement in India’s ecological transition.

The Minister will also visit several Indian NGOs working on sustainability, particularly waste management, and participate on January 28 in the India segment of the worldwide French event of debates, “Night of Ideas”, on the theme of “Close(r) in Space and Time”.


Source: ET

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