U.S.A and India: Convergences and Challenges in Clean Energy and Climate Change Key discussion questions - What are the challenges faced by both countries in harnessing the true potential for clean energy? - Should the issue of climate change feature as a major theme in the bilateral strategic negotiations? - How can knowledge sharing platforms be utilised to mitigate the crisis of climate change? - What does US joining of India-led International Solar Alliance means for the grouping? 

1. U.S.A and India:
Convergences and Challenges
in Clean Energy and Climate Change
Bibhuti Bhusan Gadanayak
Senior Technical Advisor, DRM &
Emergency
UNDP – MINEMA, Kigali –
Nyarugemge
KN 3 Rd. – KN 1 Av – Pension Plazza
Presented at International Conference on India U.S. Relations: Change, Continuity and Transformation, organised jointly CPPR with the U.S. Consulate
General in Chennai, India

2. Sessions outline
Clean energy ?
CC?
Economic impact of CC
How the clean energy related to CC ?
Background
The aim of partnership
Strategic clean energy partnership areas
• Impacts of climate change on India
• India US commitments
• India’s commitment
• Obstacles for implementing RE in US and
India
• US – India clean energy partnership and
key achievements so-far
• New challenges in post COVID-19 era
• 10 ways you can help fight the climate
crisis
• Partnership fruitful

3. Clean Energy?
Clean energy is the energy derived from renewable, zero emissions
sources as well as energy saved through energy efficiency
measures.
To be truly clean the carbon cost of production and storage needs to be
zero, and this is where sources such as; solar power and wind energy are
seen as truly clean and renewable.
A clean energy economy powered by both renewable and energy
efficiency is the most sustainable energy planning scenario available.

4. What is CC
• Climate Change means significant difference in weather pattern over an
extended period of time
• Scientific consensus links current climate change primarily;
• emissions of carbon dioxide and other
• greenhouse gases from human activity, such as;
• the burning of fossil fuels,
• loss of forests and unsustainable production and
• consumption in the industrialized world
The effects include higher global temperatures,
• an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and
• related natural disasters,
• severe impacts to the sustainability of ecosystems.
1986
2014

5. Economic impact associated with CC

6. How the clean energy related to CC
• RE minimises carbon pollution and has much lower impact on our
environment. And its having moment in the sun.- slow down the CC
How much does energy contribute to CC?
• The energy supply sector (electricity, heat and other energy) is the largest
contribute to global green house gas emissions, responsible for approx. 30%
of the total emissions.
• Households consume 29% of the global energy and contribute to 21% of
resultant CO2 emission.

7. Background
• At the Leaders’ Summit on Climate on 22nd April 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
President Joseph Biden agreed to launch a high-level India-US Partnership
• Partnership envisages bilateral cooperation on strong actions in the current decade to
meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
• Governments of the Republic of India and the United States issued the following statement
targeting 2030:
• United States has set an economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas
emissions by 50-52 % below 2005 levels in 2030 net zero by 2050. As part of its
climate mitigation efforts,
• India has set a target of installing 550 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

8. The aim of Partnership
• The Partnership aims to mobilize finance and speed clean energy deployment;
• Demonstrate and scale innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonize
sectors including industry, transportation, power, and buildings; and
• Build capacity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of climate-related
impacts.
• The Partnership is proceeding along two main tracks:
• The Strategic Clean Energy Partnership and
• The Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue
• It aim to demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action which
include resilient economic development, taking into account national
circumstances and sustainable development priorities

9. Strategic Clean Energy Partnership
Under the SCEP, the United States and India agreed to collaborate across five
pillars:
1. Power and energy efficiency
2. Responsible for Oil and gas
3. Renewable energy
4. Sustainable growth and
5. Emerging fuels
India and US task force of renewable energy on biofuels
Support India in 550 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030

10. Impacts of climate change on India
2 decades
• Climate change is impacting the natural ecosystems and is expected to have
substantial adverse effects in India, mainly on agriculture on which 58 % of
the population still depends for livelihood, water storage in the Himalayan
glaciers which are the source of major rivers and groundwater recharge, sea-
level rise, and threats to a long coastline and habitations.
• Climate change will also cause increased frequency of extreme events such
as; floods, and droughts.
• These in turn will impact India’s food security problems and water security.

11. India US commitments
US role
• It pledge to cut emissions by 50-52 % of its 2005 level by 2030
• The US re-joined Paris Agreement 3 months ago, after the former President’s decision
to leave the multi-lateral forum.
• Baiden’s announcement re-assert the US commitment in the run-up to the United
Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November in Glasgow
• US will double its public climate financing development to developing countries and
• Triple the public financing for climate application in developing countries by 2024

12. India’s commitment
• Increase renewable energy target to 550 GW
• Despite development challenges, India has taken many bold steps on clean energy,
energy efficiency, deforestation, and biodiversity
• India is one among the few countries whose NDCs are 20 Celsius compatible
• NDCs are each countries goal towards achieving the Paris Agreement target of limiting
rising temperatures to less than 20 Celsius
• India’s per capita carbon foot print is 60% lower than the global average
• It is because the life style is still rooted in sustainable and traditional practices
• India also encourage global initiatives such as; the International Solar Alliance and Collation for
Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

13. Obstacles for implementing renewable energy
in the United States and India
USA
Barriers to Renewable Energy
Technologies
• Capital costs.
• Siting and transmission.
• Market entry.
• Unequal playing field.
• Reliability misconceptions.
India
• Scaling up renewables in India is the poor
financial condition of power distribution
companies (discoms), most of which are
owned by state governments. ………..
resulting in very long and unsustainable
payment cycles
• Costs. The most significant and well-known
obstacle to renewable energy adoption right
now is cost, in particular, the costs
associated with building and installing
facilities like solar or wind farms. ...
• Transmission
• Barriers to Entry.
• Political will
• Oversupply.

14. US – India clean energy partnership and
key achievements so-far
• Vendor Rating System for Solar Rooftop Installations to Accelerate Distributed
Photovoltaic Market Growth in India:
• USAID collaborated with the Confederation of Indian Industry - Sohrabji Godrej Green
Business Center (CII-GBC) to improve the quality and safety of solar rooftop design,
procurement, and installation through predefined standards in the project cycle
• REPOSE Tool to Help reduce Power Procurement Cost for Distribution
Utilities:
• USAID’s Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment (PACE-D 2.0 RE) worked closely
with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, to indigenously design
and develop the Renewable Energy Procurement Optimization and Smart Estimation
(REPOSE) software tool for power distribution companies (DISCOMs).
• Super RESCO Model to Accelerate Solar Rooftop Adoption:
• USAID-MNRE’s bilateral PACE-D 2.0 RE program designed an innovative Super RESCO
model, and launched a 25 MW pilot in partnership with Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (
JBVNL), the State of Jharkhand’s largest distribution utility.

15. US – India clean energy partnership and
key achievements so-far……
• Supporting Indian Railways in Achieving its Decarbonization Goals:
• USAID supported the conceptualization and design of round-the-clock (RTC) RE procurement
• Empowering Indian States in RE Grid Integration:
• USAID supported the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) through the Forum of
Regulators (FOR) in preparing regulations to improve forecasting and scheduling (F&S)
accuracy of renewable generation to support grid stability and reduce commercial losses
related to forecasting deviations.
• Enhancing Flexible Generation for RE Integration:
• USAID’s work on flexible operation of coal-based power plants was scaled in the State of
Karnataka making a total of 2120 MW of Indian coal capacity flexible.
• Innovative Pilots for Large Scale Integration of RE into India’s Power Grid:
• Through the GTG-RISE initiative, USAID successfully established the viability of innovative
solutions for RE grid integration.

16. New challenges in post COVID-19 era
• Less interest in shared transport, more interest in private vehicles and modes
• Less demand for EV products in the short term
• Lower disposable incomes and a tendency towards cash saving will lead to reduced demand for EV products.
• Under the gross cost contract model, e-bus operators may not have the capital to run buses; OEMs may not want to own and
operate their own buses.
• Some OEMs’ customers are pushing back their EV business plans by two or more years.
• Impacts on EV supply chains
• There may be delays in EV production as manufacturers focus on reviving demand and producing BS-VI vehicles.
• Limits on imports of Chinese components may lead to disruptions in EV manufacturing.

17. New challenges in post COVID-19 era
• Impacts of financing
• Without cash flowing through the system, a cash crunch is growing in auto components markets and auto companies.
• Industry fears that banks may be wary of providing loans to EV owners.
• There may also be declining venture capital funding in the EV and mobility start up space.
• Impacts on policy change
• Many state EV policies and e-bus projects may be delayed due to other priorities and social-distancing challenges
• Unemployment
• Ola and Uber recently laid off 1,900 employees.
• Swiggy and Zomato recently laid off 2,600 employees.
• According to ACMA, the auto components industry could cut nearly 5 lakh jobs in the next quarter
• Several auto dealerships will be shutting shop.
• About 13 lakh truck drivers have been affected by reduced freight demand and supply-chain disruptions.

18. 10 ways you can help fight the climate crisis
1. Spread the word:
Encourage your friends, family and co-workers to reduce their carbon
pollution.
2. Keep up the political pressure:
Lobby local politicians and businesses to support efforts to cut
emissions and reduce carbon pollution.
3. Transform your transport:
Transport accounts for around a quarter of all greenhouse gas
emissions and across the world, many governments are implementing
policies to decarbonize travel.
4. Cut back your power use
If you can, switch to a zero-carbon or renewable energy provider. Install
solar panels on your roof.
5. Tweak your diet
Eat more plant-based meals – your body and the planet will thank you.
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis
6. Shop local and buy sustainable
To reduce your food’s carbon footprint, buy local and seasonal foods.
7. Don’t waste food
One-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted.
8. Dress (climate) smart
The fashion industry accounts for 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions –
more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined – and ‘fast
fashion’ has created a throwaway culture that sees clothes quickly end up in
landfills.
9. Plant trees
Every year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed and this
deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is
responsible for roughly 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
10. Focus on planet-friendly investments
Individuals can also spur change through their savings and investments by
choosing financial institutions that do not invest in carbon-polluting industries.

19. Partnership to be fruitful
• Lot of scope and potential in the partnership, India and US
• Scaling low carbon technology
• Energy data management –NITI Ayog
• Financing areas - Unluck finance
• Lot of areas of collaboration
• Govt. has initiated self reliance
• Tapping local resources
• Promotion of PPP mode
• R&D
• Clean technology for coal plants
• Tapping finance

20. Reference:
• https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis
• https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-06/India_Green_Stimulus_Report_NITI_VF_June_29.pdf
• https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis
• https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-04/StateEnergy-and-ClimateIndexRoundI-10-04-2022.pdf
• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/tag/clean-energy
• https://www.ceres.org/user/35978
• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/progress-and-contradictions-in-us-india-climate-relations-
54342
• https://americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/US-India-report.pdf
• http://164.100.47.193/intranet/CLIMATE_CHANGE-INDIA%27s_PERSPECTIVE.pdf
• https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?53/Bilateral/Multilateral_Documents
• https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis
• https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/paris-global-climate-change-agreements
• http://sustainabilitymag.com

21. Thank you all

22. Key discussion questions
o What are the challenges faced by both countries in harnessing the true potential
for clean energy?
o Should the issue of climate change feature as a major theme in the bilateral
strategic negotiations?
o How can knowledge sharing platforms be utilised to mitigate the crisis of climate
change?
o What does US joining of India-led International Solar Alliance means for the
grouping?