Germany is looking at 10 billion Euros of commitments till 2030 under this partnership

India and Germany on Monday signed a Joint Declaration of Intent establishing the Indo-German Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development.

Germany is looking at a long-term goal of at least 10 billion Euros of new and additional commitments till 2030 under this Partnership.

The declaration was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) held in Berlin.

The Partnership will aim to intensify bilateral, triangular and multilateral cooperation and link it with the strong commitment of both sides on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and SDGs, a Joint Statement released after the IGC said.

According to the statement, the two sides acknowledged their joint responsibility for the protection of the planet and for shared, sustainable and inclusive growth, leaving no-one behind.

Both leaders highlighted that Indo-German Cooperation on Sustainable Development and Climate Action is guided by the commitments of India and Germany under the Paris Agreement and the SDGs, including pursuing efforts to holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Germany intends to strengthen its financial and technical cooperation and other assistance to India with a long-term goal of at least 10 billion Euros of new and additional commitments till 2030 under this Partnership.

This will support inter alia the achievement of their ambitious goals in the climate action and sustainable development space, further promote German-Indian research and development (R&D), encourage private investment and thus aim at leveraging further funding. India and Germany stress the importance of swift implementation of existing and future commitments, the Joint Statement noted.

Both sides agreed to create a biennial Ministerial Mechanism within the framework of the Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) that will provide high-level political direction to this Partnership.

According to the Joint Statement, as deliverables of the Indo-German Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development, both sides agreed to:

* Develop an Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap based on the inputs by the Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Forcesupported by the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF).

* Establish an Indo-German Renewable Energy Partnership focusing on innovative solar energy and other renewables, including the associated challenges for electricity grids, storage and market design to facilitate a just energy transition. The partnership would also support creation of a circular economy for solar technologies. Germany expressed its intention to provide financial and technical cooperation including concessional loans of up to 1 billion EUR from 2020 to 2025 depending on high quality project preparation and the availability of funds.

* Establish a lighthouse cooperation on "Agroecology and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources” to benefit the rural population and small-scale farmers in India in terms of income, food security, climate resilience, improved soil, biodiversity, forest restoration and water availability and to promote Indian experience globally. Germany expressed its intention to provide financial and technical cooperation including concessional loans of up to 300 million EUR until 2025 depending on high quality project preparation and the availability of funds.

* Further examine collaboration on Green Energy Corridors, e.g. the Leh-Haryana transmission line and the project of a carbon neutral Ladakh.

* Deepen cooperation in restoring forest landscapes under the Bonn Challenge as an important measure to fight poverty, preserve and restore biodiversity and prevent and attenuate climate change, acknowledging also the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 as a framework for intensified political partnership and dialogue and accelerated action to increase the area of healthy ecosystems and end their loss, fragmentation and degradation.

* Deepen cooperation on the creation of suitable conditions for the successful and sustainable use of green technologies, including in the area of reduction of air pollution.

* Work together on Triangular Cooperation, based on individual strengths and experiences in development cooperation and offer sustainable, viable and inclusive projects in third countries to support the achievement of SDGs and climate targets.

According to the Joint Statement, in addition and in the context of the Indo-German Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development, both sides welcomed the progress of existing initiatives including:

* The Indo-German Energy Forum launched in 2006 and flagship cooperation programs initiated under this partnership. They agreed to further enhance its strategic dimension and private sector involvement.

* The cooperation within the Indo-German Environment Forum (IGEnvF), which held its last meeting in February 2019 in Delhi. They strive to encourage the participation of provincial and municipal authorities taking into account the federal structure of both countries.

* The meetings of the Joint Working Group on Biodiversity last held virtually in February 2021, where both sides underlined their support to adopt an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework with strong targets at CBD COP15 and expressed their intention to work towards the establishment of tangible cooperation.

* The good opportunities created by the Joint Working Group on Waste and Circular Economy, in particular to further intensify the cooperation and exchange of experiences between both countries.

They agreed to continue and intensify the Indo-German Environment Cooperation by supporting the effective and efficient implementation of ambitious objectives and policies in order to prevent litter, especially plastics, entering the marine environment as set in SDG target 14.1 and to especially focus on the implementation of SDG target 8.2 (technological upgrading and innovation), 11.6 (municipal and other waste management) and 12.5 (recycling and reduction of waste).

India and Germany agreed to closely cooperate in the UNEA towards establishing a global legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.

* The Indo-German Partnership on Green Urban Mobility launched in 2019 and the substantive development cooperation portfolio that has been developed.

Accelerated action and collaboration is envisaged to support the integration of sustainable modes of transport, such as metros, light metros, fuel efficient low-emission and electric bus systems, non-motorized transport, and facilitate early integrated planning for sustainable mobility for all with a view to work on concrete targets for the joint work in the partnership until 2031.

* The collaboration between NITI Aayog and BMZ in developing the country’s first SDG Urban Index & Dashboard (2021-22) aimed at strengthening SDG localization at the city level and for fostering data-driven decision making as well as plans for further SDG implementation at state and district level.