Climate change & energy

Working with developing countries - India

How we are working with India

UK-India Joint Study on Barrier to Technology Transfer

At Gleneagles in July 2005, the G8 highlighted the importance of strengthening technology cooperation between developed and developing nations to develop and deploy low carbon energy options globally. Many developing countries pressed for a new approach to international cooperation in the area of clean energy technologies.

As a follow-up to this and in support of the EU-India Initiative, signed in New Delhi on 7 September 2005, the UK Government and the Government of India decided to collaborate on a study to assess the barriers to the transfer of low carbon energy technology between developed and developing countries.

The Sussex Energy Group (SEG) at the University of Sussex, in partnership with TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, India) and IDS (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK) were jointly commissioned by Defra and the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests to undertake this study.

The aim of the study is to facilitate technological co-operation between developed and developing countries. It is envisaged that the study will help to inform intergovernmental discussions about the development and transfer of low carbon energy technologies. Of particular importance are discussions under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Gleneagles Dialogue on Clean Energy, Sustainable Development and Climate Change. The study focuses primarily on technology transfer to India. It is, however, hoped that the insights provided by the study can usefully inform more general discussions on low carbon technology transfer to developing countries.

The study used a combination of literature review and case study research to answer two key questions:

  1. What are the barriers to successful technology transfer?
  2. What policy incentives and other initiatives might overcome these barriers?

The study findings were officially launched at the Gleneagles Dialogue meeting held in Mexico and the World Sustainable Development Summit in Shirakawa, Japan in October 2006. Following this the findings of the report were promoted at a side event at the UNFCCC COP in Nairobi. This event was chaired by Dr Pachauri (chair of the IPCC) and included opening representations from the Secretary of State, David Miliband MP and Shri Namo Narain Meena (Indian Minister for Environment).

Both ministers gave the study their full endorsement and were forthright in calling for more work focussing on the areas that the report highlighted.

You can read the study’s executive summary PDF (265 KB) and the full report PDF (939 KB).
Further details: David Ockwell, SPRU, Freeman Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QE d.g.ockwell@sussex.ac.uk, Tel: +44 7811 136972

Background: EU-India Initiative on Clean Development and Climate Change

At the EU-India Summit (7th September 2005, New Delhi), India and the EU agreed to launch an EU-India Initiative on Clean Development and Climate Change. The Initiative was launched as part of the Political Declaration on the India-EU Strategic Partnership. The Declaration was taken further in a Joint Action Plan. The Initiative will focus on voluntary practical measures, and will be taken forward at successive EU-India summits. In particular, both sides agreed to:

  • Identify and develop ways of widening access and overcoming the barriers to dissemination of such technologies in India and the EU and more widely;
  • Increase funding and promote public-private partnerships for research and development of cleaner technologies;
  • Promote adaptive research and development to suit the resource endowment of both parties;
  • Reduce the price gap between “cleaner” and “less efficient” technologies by seeking economies of scale;
  • Hold experts’ meetings on climate change, including on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2005.

More info on the EU website.

Impacts of climate change in India

Phase I

Defra funded a collaborative project with the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The project involved eight Indian institutes that were working to assess the impacts of climate change on sea level variability, water resources, forests, agriculture, health, energy, industry and transport infrastructure. The £450,000 study, which looked at the impacts of climate change, found that India was likely to face significant adverse effects in a range of sectors, including agriculture, health, forestry and infrastructure.

Phase II

Defra and the MoEF have embarked on a second phase of the project which will provide improvements in the climate modelling and consider the impacts on four sectors in a more integrated way than was possible in the first phase. The linkages between water resources; agriculture; forestry and human health will be looked at to improve the impact assessments. The second phase will also include a regional case study to work with stakeholders and develop options for practical adaptation actions. 

Building capacity and expertise on advanced coal technologies

The UK Government is working with the Government of India to develop capacity and expertise on advanced coal technologies.

The use of advanced supercritical technology and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in power stations will significantly reduce the amount of emissions per unit of electricity.  CCS in particular offers the opportunity to reduce emissions by 85 - 90%.

Defra, the FCO and BERR are also working together to support R&D projects and provide economic analysis on;

  • Improved power station efficiency
  • Capture ready power plants
  • Carbon Capture and Storage

In January 2008, Defra and the FCO co-sponsored an international workshop on “Carbon Capture and Storage in the Power Sector: R&D priorities for India” in partnership with the Planning Commission and Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.  The event was facilitated by Integrated Research and Action for Development.

The workshop presentations are available at: www.irade.org/ccs/international-workshop.htm

Key projects to date include:

 

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Page last modified: 18 July 2008
Page published: 8 September 2005

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs