India and the United States have recently held the Ministerial meeting of their Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) in New Delhi. The main objective of this engagement was to strengthen bilateral ties in the field of clean energy. Both sides recognized the importance of clean energy in enhancing energy security, fostering innovation, addressing climate change and generating job opportunities.
Key Highlights of the Meeting
During the meeting, various aspects of the SCEP mandate were reviewed. These included collaboration across a multitude of clean energy workstreams, such as clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency. Emerging technologies like battery storage and swapping technologies, gas hydrates, advanced biofuels, and hydrogen and electrolyzed production were also discussed.
Determining the course of future activities, commitments were made to develop a Net Zero village in India and establish an Energy Storage Task Force. Additionally, the meeting saw the launch of the U.S.-India New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform (RETAP). This platform aims to accelerate the development of key technologies to advance common ambitious clean energy goals.
Biofuels and South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE)
A Global Biofuels Alliance was affirmed in the meeting, with Brazil, India and the U.S. leading as biofuel producers and consumers. The goal of this alliance is to foster cooperation and increase the use of sustainable biofuels.
The SAGE was another significant development from the meeting. This initiative will enhance the interaction between Indian agencies and U.S. national laboratories to support research and capacity building activities in low carbon technologies and energy consumption in the building sector.
Additional Concerns and Collaborations
New areas of work, including Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, were introduced under the Emerging Fuels and Technology Pillar. In an effort to broaden the scope of the partnership, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will collaborate with various Indian agencies. This includes the Indian Railways, NTPC Green National Skills Development Corporation, Skills Council for Green Jobs, and the Forum of Regulators.
What is Strategic Clean Energy Partnership?
Established in line with the US – India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership, the SCEP focuses on enhancing energy security and innovation. It aims to electrify and decarbonize processes and end uses, scale up emerging clean energy technologies, find solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, and deploy technical solutions. The SCEP was initially established as the Strategic Energy Partnership in 2018, replacing the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue, the former intergovernmental engagement for energy cooperation.
UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions
In recent years, questions related to the India-US alliance have frequently appeared in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Some examples include: ‘What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region.’ (2020). Other questions have focussed on the friction between India and the United States due to Washington’s inability to find a suitable position for India in its global strategy that would satisfy India’s national self-esteem and ambitions (2019).
