Successful talks at the fourth Indo-German intergovernmental consultations in Berlin
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks participated in the fourth Indo-German intergovernmental consultations held today in Berlin at the German Federal Chancellery. The consultations were led by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Minister Hendricks said: "India and Germany want to further advance climate action and environmental protection together and intensify cooperation. I am especially pleased that the Indian government also believes that the G20 summit in Hamburg in July must send out strong signals in support of climate action and sustainable development."
Minister Hendricks and Harsh Vardhan, the Indian Minister responsible for technology and the environment, discussed the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Both ministers agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation on environmental protection and climate action. To this end, the bilateral working groups on climate, water and wastewater management, waste and circular economy and sustainable urban development, which already convene on a regular basis, will be supplemented with a new working group on biodiversity.
Minister Hendricks also met with Piyush Goyal, the Indian minister responsible for renewable energy. Their discussion focussed on expanding renewables in India through the Indo-German Climate and Renewables Alliance established by Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Modi during the last Indo-German government consultations in 2015. State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Rainer Baake, also took part in the talk with Minister Goyal.
Cooperation between the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and a number of Indian ministries centres on supporting the implementation of India's NDCs, for example reducing macroeconomic emission intensity (emissions based on GDP) by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Other areas of cooperation include protecting biodiversity, forest conservation and adaptation to climate change. Under its International Climate Initiative, the Federal Environment Ministry supports bilateral projects in India with a total of 64.7 million euros.