Focus on climate action, sustainable development goals, water and resource efficiency/Indo-German Environment Forum in New Delhi
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks is going to India next week to hold political talks. Major topics will be climate action, the new UN sustainable development goals and energy policy. A dialogue forum for environmental issues will be the central event of the visit. Minister Hendricks will be accompanied by a high ranking business delegation.
The second Indo-German Environment Forum will start next Wednesday in New Delhi, chaired by Minister Hendricks and her Indian counterpart Minister Prakash Javadekar. The two-day event will focus on four areas: waste and circular economy, water management, resource efficiency and sustainable urban development. The task is to identify the necessary framework conditions, challenges and approaches to solutions. Around 300 representatives of ministries, business and science as well as NGOs will participate in the forum, which is jointly organized by the two environment ministries, the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Cooperation in environmental matters between Germany and India has a long tradition. Germany has been supporting projects in India within the framework of the International Climate Initiative since 2008. Projects have focussed on the increased use of renewable energies, climate protection, biological diversity and resource efficiency.
The bilateral meeting between Hendricks und Indian Environment Minister Javadekar will mainly be about the international climate negotiations in preparation of the Paris UN climate change conference in December of this year, which is to pass a new international climate agreement, as well as the UN summit in New York in September. New sustainable development goals to apply globally for the post-2015 period are to be passed there. As one of the countries in transition with enormous economic growth and much influence in the Group of 77 (G77), a loose association of developing countries, India plays an important role both in the climate agreement negotiations and the negotiations on sustainable development goals for the post-2015 agenda.