Context:

• For over a year now, India, Germany and the entire world have been in crisis mode. 
  • The virus briefly drew attention away from another crisis — climate change and its impact.

 

Background

• Back in December 2015, 195 countries joined in Paris to sign an ambitious climate agreement. 
• It was agreed that global warming must be kept to well under 2 degrees Celsius and, if possible, to 1.5 degrees. 
• Each of those countries must deliver on their responsibilities. Climate change, too, is a crisis that can only be beaten worldwide or not at all.

 

 India-Germany Relations:

• Freedom struggle: Subhas Chandra Bose, a prominent freedom fighter for Indian independence, made a determined effort to obtain India’s independence from Britain by seeking military assistance from the Axis powers. The Indische Legion was formed to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India principally made up of Indian prisoners of war.
• Diplomacy: India maintained diplomatic relations with both West Germany and East Germany and supported their reunification in 1990. Contrary to France and the UK, Germany has no strategic footprint in Asia.
• Past contentions: Germany condemned India for liberating Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961 and supported Portugal’s dictatorial regime under Salazar against India. It was critical of India for intervening in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.  It rejected India’s 1998 nuclear tests.

• Quest for UNSC: India and Germany both seek to become permanent members of the UNSC and have joined with Japan and Brazil to coordinate their efforts via the G4 collective.
• Cultural ties: Germany has supported education and cultural programs in India. Germany helped establish the IIT Madras after both governments signed an agreement in 1956 and increased its cooperation and supply of technology and resources over the decades to help expand the institution
• Trade and investment: Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe. Germany is the 8th largest foreign direct investor (FDI) in India.

 

Common concerns

• In South Asia and Europe, we have become used to extremely hot weather, flooding, dramatic depletion of groundwater tables and drought.
• The EU has adopted an ambitious Green Deal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to decouple economic growth from consumption of natural resources.

 

Collaborated efforts to date

• In 2015, India’s PM and Germany’s Federal Chancellor agreed to further strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership.
• On this basis, Germany and India have succeeded in building up a cooperation portfolio worth almost 12 billion euros.
• Already, nine out of 10 measures support climate goals and SDGs together.

Indo-German development cooperation focuses on three areas:

1. Transition to renewable energies
2. Sustainable urban development and
3. Sustainable management of natural resources

 

What does Germany have to offer?

• As a pioneer of energy transition, Germany is offering knowledge, technology transfer and financial solutions.
• The pandemic has shown global supply chains are vulnerable.
• Yet, when it comes to agriculture and natural resources, there are smart solutions that are being tested in India and Germany for more self-reliance, including agro-ecological approaches and sustainable management of forests, soils and water.
• Experience in India has shown that these methods also boost incomes for the local population and make them less dependent on expensive fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.

 

About Paris Agreement

• It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
• It was adopted by 196 countries at Conference of the Parties COP 21 in Paris in December 2015.
• Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2° Celsius, and preferably limit it to 1.5° Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
• Objective: To achieve the long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century.

 

India’s Status

• India is one of few countries that looks set to deliver on the national goals it set itself as part of the Paris agreement. 
  • Compared to other G20 countries, its per capita emissions are very low.
• India now has the opportunity to make its massive investments in infrastructure over the next 15 years climate-smart and climate-resilient. This will also protect the interests of the most vulnerable sections of the population. 
  • But without India, the world will not be able to fight climate change. Without India, we cannot achieve the SDGs. 
  • That means that India has a leading international role to play in the global race to sustainability.

 

EU’s Status

• The EU has adopted an ambitious Green Deal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to decouple economic growth from consumption of natural resources. 
• Germany recently adopted laws on reducing greenhouse gases more quickly, achieving climate neutrality by 2045 and stopping the use of coal for electricity production by 2038.

 

India and Germany on Climate Change

• In 2015, India’s Prime Minister and Germany’s Federal Chancellor agreed to further strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership. 
• On this basis, Germany and India have succeeded in building up a cooperation portfolio worth almost 12 billion euros. Already, nine out of 10 measures support climate goals and SDGs together.
• Indo-German development cooperation focuses on three areas: 
  • The transition to renewable energies, 
  • Sustainable urban development and 
  • Sustainable management of natural resources.
• As a pioneer of energy transition, Germany is offering knowledge, technology transfer and financial solutions. 
• Over half the Indian population will live in cities by 2050. German’s cooperation efforts support Indian policies to find sustainable solutions for this growth challenge in the face of limited urban resources and climate change.

 

Way Forward

• The pandemic has shown global supply chains are vulnerable. Yet, when it comes to agriculture and natural resources, there are smart solutions that are being tested in India and Germany for more self-reliance, including agro-ecological approaches and sustainable management of forests, soils and water. 
• Experience in India has shown that these methods also boost incomes for the local population and make them less dependent on expensive fertilisers, pesticides and seeds. 
• Through a One Health approach, which looks at the close connections between human and animal health within their shared environment, India would tackle the challenges posed by population growth, increased mobility, shrinking habitats, industrialised farming and intensive animal husbandry.
• Ultimately, global climate goals and the SDGs can only be achieved through cooperation between governments, the private sector, science, and civil society. 
• India and Germany have innovative economies and many highly-trained people so should harness that potential even more.