27 January 2015
US, India to Enhance Cooperation on Climate, Clean Energy
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama have announced joint measures to boost clean energy in India and international climate action.

The two sides announced their plan to cooperate together and with other countries over the next year to conclude an “ambitious” climate agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference, scheduled to take place in December 2015.

india.us25 January 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama have announced joint measures to boost clean energy in India and international climate action. The two sides announced their plan to cooperate together and with other countries over the next year to conclude an “ambitious” climate agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference, scheduled to take place in December 2015.

In the ‘US and India Climate and Clean Energy Cooperation,’ the two countries stress the importance of: enhancing bilateral cooperation on adaptation measures; carrying out joint research and development and technology innovation; and adopting and diffusing clean energy and efficiency solutions to help India transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy.

Modi and Obama also reaffirmed their intention to cooperate in phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and on making progress in the Montreal Protocol discussions this year.

The two countries announced actions to increase India’s share of renewable use in electricity generation consistent with its goal of increasing the solar target to 100 gigawatts by 2022. Furthermore, they agreed to: strengthen bilateral cooperation; expand the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), a clean energy research and development center jointly funded by the US and Indian Governments and private sector; accelerate clean energy finance; launch air quality cooperation; begin technical cooperation on heavy-duty vehicles and transportation fuels; initiate climate resilience tool development; promote super-efficient off-grid appliances; transform the market for efficient and climate-friendly cooling; and demonstrate clean energy initiatives on the ground.

The two countries also concluded negotiations on a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate Change to carry this work forward, to be signed as early as possible at a mutually-agreed upon date. [US-India Joint Statement] [Fact Sheet on US-India Climate and Clean Energy Cooperation]