Answering India's concerns over energy security alongside global apprehension over rising carbon dioxide emission from burning fossil fuel, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George Bush have welcomed Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.
The Partnership was inked last year to look at clean energy production. The centrepiece of the partnership is developing clean coal technology and giving a thrust of technology transfer for renewable sources of energy. China, Japan, Australia, South Korea are the other partners in the new climate and energy deal.
The Partnership will enable the two countries to work with other nations to meet increasing energy needs of the region. It will collaborate, largely in the private sector, transfer of cleaner, cost effective technologies and practices, a joint statement issued after talks between the two leaders said.
The statement also welcomed India's interest in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme, an international marine research endeavour that will contribute to long-term energy solutions such as gas hydrates.
Led by Japan and the US, the programme aims to study, inter-alia, the unknown deep biosphere by studying core samples and monitoring boreholes, an important first step toward harnessing gas hydrates as a source of energy.
The National Gas Hydrate Programme has identified specific areas in Indian deep-sea waters for conducting further geo-scientific surveys. Commercial exploitation of gas hydrates is expected to start sometime in the period of 2015-2020.
The two countries also agreed to step up cooperation in fighting against wildlife trafficking and work together on conservation of wildlife through cooperation on park management and eco-tourism.
The joint statement noted that India had joined the global Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) through which the two countries will collaborate in the fight against illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts.
The two countries also decided to use the opportunity to strengthen long-standing work together on the conservation of wildlife through cooperation on park management and eco-tourism. The coalition focuses on political and public attention on growing threats to wildlife from poaching and illegal trade.
Seven major US-based environmental and business groups with global interests and programmes have joined the coalition.
