May 18: The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency concluded in Mumbai today (May 17, 2023). The three days meeting witnessed the participation of over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Economic Forum, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), International Energy Agency (IEA), Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), International Solar Alliance (ISA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations International Development Organization (UNIDO), and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The 3rd ETWG Meeting was 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, were also part of the meeting and deliberations.
The primary agenda of the 3rd ETWG meeting was the detailed discussions on the draft Ministerial Communique which entailed constructive discussions and deliberations on priority areas. Member countries presented their respective viewpoints. There has been consensus on the proposals in the areas of energy transitions under India’s G20 Presidency. Most notable is the consensus on giving high priority to ensure universal access to modern and sustainable energy to all.
On the sidelines, the three-day meeting was complemented by eight side events. The side events witnessed the participation of various stakeholders – policymakers, multilateral organisations, financial institutions, business organizations and subject experts.
- 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 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.
- Seminar on Off-shore wind – The event titled “Harnessing Offshore Wind for accelerating energy transition: The Way Forward” provided a platform to aggregate knowledge and best practices for boosting progress on offshore wind in India and globally.
- Sharing global policies and best practices to decarbonize ‘Hard to Abate sectors’ – The objective of the side event was to understand the challenging aspects of industry transition. It examined various issues such as policy alignment and formulation, technology collaboration, finance mobilization, capacity and skills development, and related aspects of industrial decarbonization.
- Seminar on SMRs (Small Module Reactors) for Clean Energy Transition – This Seminar brought together various stakeholders – industry, policymakers, public sector enterprises, private sector companies, regulatory bodies, and international agencies to deliberate upon the critical issues with respect to SMRs development and deployment.
- Synergizing the Energy Transition Pathways of G20 ETWG and B20, India Industry perspective – This was aimed to exchange high-level commitments through the G20 and business actions from forums like the B20. This event was organised in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as the designated Secretariat for B20 India.
- Accelerating Energy Efficiency and promoting an Energy efficient life – The event brought together Mission Efficiency partners, leading energy efficiency stakeholders, and country representatives to increase focus and provide momentum for ambitious actions on energy efficiency, including through G20 processes, and showcased India’s leadership in promoting energy efficient behaviours and lifestyles through the LiFE Campaign (Lifestyle for the Environment).
The discussions and progress on the draft Ministerial Communique will be taken forward in the 4th Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting, scheduled in Goa from July 19-20, 2023.
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