When solving the global energy and climate crisis, the focus is often on the USA and China. India is also a key partner in achieving the global development goals. One sixth of all people live in India. The population is expected to increase from 1.3 billion people to 1.7 billion in 2050, all of whom have the right to health, education or a home.
Industrialization will continue so that these people have jobs and an income. Energy is the basis for all development. Without energy there would be no hospitals, no schools, no computers and no mobility. That is why access to energy is key to development. All other structures grow from the expansion of the energy infrastructure, for example to develop industry, create jobs, shape urbanization and lift people out of poverty.
The question of how this energy is provided is more urgent than ever. If every new household got a coal-based socket, many new coal-fired power plants would have to be built. The Paris climate targets were thus a long way off. Rather, India and Germany must become renewable energy countries.
On both sides, the potential has not yet been fully exploited. The CO2 consumption in India is three tons per capita, in Germany it is ten tons. Together, the two countries are responsible for almost nine percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We have to and want to reduce that.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Future economic growth must be sustainable to protect our climate. At the climate conference in Glasgow, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the targets for the energy transition in India: the capacity for production from renewable sources is to be increased to 500 gigawatts and the CO2 intensity of the economy is to be reduced by 45 percent by the end of the decade. Germany has also increased its climate targets and wants to reduce emissions from electricity generation by 77 percent compared to 1990.
Modi relies on renewable energies
We have the knowledge and the technology for such a climate-neutral development. That is why the greatest opportunities lie in a new, strategic cooperation between India and Germany in order to have a positive effect on the climate of our planet.
To do this, the switch from coal to renewable energy must be initiated as quickly as possible. At the climate conference in Glasgow, all states agreed to reduce coal power and to cut inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels. An important step. Germany will phase out coal completely by 2038 at the latest, possibly much earlier.
Prime Minister Modi announced that half of India’s electricity should come from renewable energy sources by 2030. Coal power plants with a capacity of 50 gigawatts are to be shut down by 2027. The transition from coal to renewables must not result in social hardship. To do this, we have to ensure a reliable energy supply for everyone and create new jobs for those that are no longer available.
These are all ambitious goals. The old industrialized countries have a special responsibility to lead the way in the energy transition and economic transformation and to support other countries. This is important for climate protection and creates win-win situations on both sides. In the government negotiations with India that have just ended, Germany therefore intensified its cooperation in the field of climate and development – with cheap loans of over 1.2 billion euros.
Thousands of modern jobs have been created
In this way, we create modern jobs, strengthen the exchange of technology and help to achieve the international climate targets effectively. These investments flow, among other things, into the expansion of renewable energies and the development of green corridors – overland power lines, energy storage – in order to connect as many people as possible to wind and solar power plants. Together, 3.4 gigawatts of renewable energies and over 7770 kilometers of green energy corridors have already been created in India’s “Sunshine States”.
Millions of people have better access to energy and thousands of modern jobs have been created. With these and other measures, more than 100 million tons of CO2 emissions have been reduced or avoided annually – that is more than the total emissions from German agriculture.
Indian and German engineers also use such synergy effects in technology and knowledge in the field of green mobility. In the metropolis of Nagpur, Germany is supporting the construction of the metro with half a billion euros. Two thirds of the electricity for the trains comes from solar panels. We have to multiply these examples! Because more and more people are moving to cities around the world, and so is the need for affordable, sustainable local public transport.
With these climate and development investments, we are also opening up new markets: the solar system in Sakri in the state of Maharashtra was India’s largest solar system when it went online in 2013. It helped make solar energy competitive and private investments in renewable energies attractive. This cooperation creates great opportunities for economic and industrial cooperation between German, European and Indian companies.
Global manufacturing center for wind turbines
The Indian company Reliance New Energy Solar has just agreed to invest 25 million euros in the German solar cell manufacturer Nexwafe. The German Enercon has re-entered the Indian market and is building a global manufacturing center for new wind turbines. Development cooperation supports companies in investing in sustainable development and climate protection, for example with projects on dual training with Siemens India or on electrical and urban mobility with Bosch India.
In this way we are creating new, modern jobs together in India and here in Germany. And strengthen the technology leadership of many German companies. We want to and must continue resolutely on this path of global energy transition. India and Germany are key partners in promoting the global development goals – also at the global level.
Germany will take over the G7 presidency in 2022. India takes over the G20 presidency in 2023. As close partners in multilateralism and democratic constitutional states, both countries have a strong common interest in a global energy transition that will save our climate, provide energy for everyone and leave no one behind. It is precisely for these topics that I will work as the new General Director of the United Nations industrial organization Unido. Because we must not miss this opportunity – especially in the interests of our children.
The author: Gerd Müller is outgoing Federal Development Minister. He was recently elected General Director of the United Nations industrial organization Unido.
More: Indian multi-billionaire joins the hydrogen race