NITI Aayog, Dutch Embassy Sign SoI on ‘Decarbonisation and Energy Transition Agenda’

PC: NITI Aayog/Twitter

NITI Aayog and the Embassy of the Netherlands have signed an SoI to support the decarbonisation and energy transition agenda for cleaner and more energy.

NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands, New Delhi, signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) on September 28, 2020, to support the decarbonisation and energy transition agenda for accommodating cleaner and more energy.

The SoI was signed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Ambassador of the Netherlands to India Marten van den Berg. Through this collaboration, NITI Aayog and the Dutch Embassy seek a strategic partnership to create a platform that enables a comprehensive collaboration among stakeholders and influencers, including policymakers, industry bodies, OEMs, private enterprises, and sector experts.

Great news! Amb @BergMarten 🇳🇱and CEO @amitabhk87 🇮🇳 signed a SoI today in presence of @NITIAayog VC @RajivKumar1 & @Shell_India Chm. @nitin_prasad

A step forward to strengthen the 🤝 in energy sector, co-creating #innovative technology and to achieve #sustainable growth. pic.twitter.com/RePHHXuIgq

— NL Embassy India 🇮🇳🇳🇱 (@NLinIndia) September 28, 2020

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said, “we are committed to reduce emissions’ intensity by 33 percent–35 percent by 2030. With the focus on carbon intensity of products sold across the world, low carbon industrialisation is the next huge opportunity for India. Apart from the ongoing emphasis on renewable energy, India stands committed on the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. Given the enormous potential the partnership holds, the thematic areas within the broad topic of energy transition and climate change, the partnership with the Netherlands in the spirit and action, will help both the countries derive natural synergies to achieve sustainable development goals.”

The focus of the partnership is on co-creating innovative technological solutions by leveraging the expertise of the two entities. This will be achieved through an exchange of knowledge and collaborative activities.

Key elements include

1. lowering the net carbon footprint in the industrial and transport sectors
2. realise the target potential of natural gas and promote bio-energy technologies
3. adopt clean air technologies from monitoring to reducing actual particulates
4. adopt next-generation technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation, and storage for sectoral energy efficiency
5. financial frameworks to deliver and adopt climate change finance.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, said, “Both India and the Netherlands have ambitious sustainable energy targets and face similar issues in realising cleaner energy transition goals. I am sure India’s expertise in deploying high-tech solutions in a cost-effective manner, combined with Dutch expertise in low carbon technologies, will further solidify Indo-Dutch collaboration, and we will successfully work towards achieving the decarbonisation and energy transition agenda.”

The Netherlands and India share a long history of trade and investment. It is India’s sixth-largest EU trading partner—as much as 20 percent of India’s exports to the European continent goes through the Netherlands, making it India’s ‘gateway to Europe’—and one of the top five investors in the country. It is also the third-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment for India.

Marten van den Berg, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, said, “as both India and the Netherlands continue to transform their energy sector, we are committed that initiatives under this SoI will help both the countries to move towards becoming climate-resilient economies. Working with India is also important to meet its twin objectives—generating economic growth and ensuring it safeguards the environment for future generations. In the field of energy, there is a huge room for cooperation between the two countries, as we both have ambitious sustainable targets. This SoI will encourage more collaboration. It will not only boost the economies of the two nations but also achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”