European Commission executive-vice president (EVP) for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans recently visited India to focus on preparations for COP 28, COP 16 and G20 and on strengthening EU-India cooperation against climate change and biodiversity.

The two sides established the Clean Energy and Climate Partnership (CECP) in 2016 to promote clean energy and climate-friendly technologies and encourage research and the development of innovative solutions. The current areas of collaboration include activities in offshore wind energy, rooftop solar and solar parks, integration of renewable energy and storage, smart grids, biofuels, and energy efficiency in buildings.

Diring his visit, Timmermans held bilateral meetings with several ministers to discuss how India and the EU could work together to create a strong and diverse global supply chain for the energy sector. He met with the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav; Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh; Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi; Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman.

During these meetings, both sides spoke about reducing methane emissions in the energy sector, carbon pricing, and climate financing. Timmermans also delivered a keynote speech at the Annual Session 2023 of the Confederation of Indian Industry where he emphasized that India was a key partner for the EU.

“My invitation is that let's create it together: the right forum, the right discussion forms, the right ideas, the right scientific developments, the right industrial applications that will allow the European Union and India to work much more closely together for the benefit of our people, but also for the benefits of the whole planet,” he said during the speech.