NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday met visiting US Special Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern and discussed measures on clean energy, combating climate change and to establish coordination on mitigation and adaptation aspects.
The meeting was followed by the first Meeting of the Joint Working Group on combating climate change. Discussions were held in the areas of clean energy, smart grid and energy efficiency, development of technology and sharing of information on best practices on adaptation measures specifically for the extreme weather events. Javadekar said that in view of the 2015 Agreement on Climate Change, the group needed to work very closely and develop a common understanding for ambitious and balanced package for the post-2020 period.
Reiterating the government’s commitment towards sustainable development, Javadekar mentioned that several major climate friendly initiatives had been introduced in this year’s Union Budget . He also emphasised ratification and implementation of the second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol, including enhancing of mitigation ambition by Annex-I parties, as a very important step. US is the only country which did not ratify first commitment period of Kyoto Protocol.
Stern mentioned that the Joint Working Group would initiate a constructive partnership on Clean Energy and Climate Change between the two countries and this would help to enhance the bilateral partnership.
