Political Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change
Germany and India signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of environmental protection as far back as September 1998. Since then, cooperation has also expanded to management of waste, water and renewable energies.
The Indo-German Environment Forum was launched in November 2008 with the participation of the environment ministers of both countries. Since then there have been regular sessions where government and business representatives of both countries network on issues ranging from climate change and energy policy, to waste and water issues. Over and above that, the Forum is an important platform for networking activities.
Other important bilateral events and high-ranking visits at a glance:
- In April 2011, Germany sponsored a side-event at the India Water Forum in New Delhi, which focused on water security and climate change. The side-event itself provided a regional perspective through the theme of “Water, Climate Change and Conflict in South Asia”, with speakers from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Germany.
- In May 2011, Germany was sponsor and co–organiser of the Carbon Bazaar 2011, a larger bilateral forum in New Delhi on the various aspects of carbon markets. The Carbon Bazaar was initiated in 2009 and has since taken place every year. This year´s full-day event was dedicated to India´s new domestic market instruments, as well as to the future of the international carbon markets. The event also brought together buyers and sellers of carbon credits.
- Jürgen Becker, State Secretary at the German Ministry for Environment (BMU) visited New Delhi in October 2010 and joined the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference, for which Germany was a partner country. He also met with his Indian counterpart for bilateral consultations.
- Katharina Reiche, Parliamentary State Secretary came to New Delhi on the occasion of the first Indo-German government consultations on 31 May, 2011. She held bilateral consultations with Jairam Ramesh, the then Indian Environment Minister. They discussed the potential for future bilateral projects, international climate change negotiations, the forthcoming Rio+20 conference in 2012, as well as the proposal for an international science panel on biodiversity.
- Jairam Ramesh in turn paid a visit to Berlin in July 2011, joining the (Ministerial) Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an informal gathering hosted jointly by Germany and South Africa to promote consensus for the international climate change negotiations. In his role as the then Environment Minister, Ramesh also spoke at the reputed Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research outside Berlin.
