May 16: The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency began in Mumbai today. The three-day meeting has the participation of over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations such as International Energy Agency (IEA), and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The Special Address on the opening day of the 3rd ETWG Meeting was given by Minister of State for Railways, Coal and Mines, Govt. of India, Raosaheb Patil Danve, who stressed the need to give preference to the development and adoption of sustainable energy sources and policies that promote conservation and reduce carbon emissions. He said, “G20 nations hold a unique responsibility to lead the way towards a sustainable future.”
India’s leadership is important in this transition, Minister added. He further said that the government can play an important role in setting policies and regulations. Financial institutions can also play an important role in providing funding and investment opportunities. Corporations can adopt sustainable practices and invest in renewable energy sources. Multilateral organizations can provide technical & Financial Assistance to developing nations. And lastly, citizens can also become a part of this movement by adopting energy-efficient practices in their daily lives.
The 3rd ETWG Meeting is being chaired by Shri Alok Kumar, Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Government of India and ETWG Chair. Shri Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, are also part of the meeting and deliberations.
The key highlight of the 3rd ETWG meeting is the detailed discussions on the draft Ministerial Communique.
On the sidelines, the Meeting was complemented by three side events. The side events witnessed the participation of various stakeholders – policymakers, multilateral organisations, financial institutions, business organizations and subject experts. On the first day, the side events included:
- Workshop with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) with the aim of mobilizing low-cost international finance – The discussions focused on ensuring providing access to finance to countries that would enable the scale-up and implementation of critical and emerging technologies such as battery storage, green hydrogen, offshore wind, Bioenergy, and Carbon Capture Utilisation.
- Seminar on Just Transition Roadmap – The Seminar deliberated upon challenges faced in Just Transition in the coal sector, primarily in coal-dependent economies. The discussions covered lessons learnt from various countries in different aspects, namely, Institutional Governance, Repurposing land and infrastructural assets, enabling sharing of knowledge of successful initiatives taken worldwide and also for facilitating technological and financial assistance through collaborations.
- Seminar on Biofuels – The Seminar focused on ways to accelerate the development and deployment of biofuels, including new technologies through strengthening the alliance on collaboration and advancements in biofuel including creating a Global Biofuel Alliance.
The discussions and progress on the draft Ministerial Communique will be taken forward on the second day of the Meeting. The 3rd ETWG Meeting concludes on May 17, 2023. It is expected that agreement and understanding among member countries will help in advancing the cause of global cooperation in the clean energy transition.
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