Green finance may become a bright and robust strand of the expanding economic links between India and the US in the next 25 years, and the two countries have the intent and will to lead the global fight against climate change.
According to Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the US, the green economy is diversified globally but concentrated in a small number of nations. It will inevitably find new and rising markets like India.
More than 300 people from all over the world attended the two-day conference, which was organised by the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, in association with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The US Development Finance Corporation’s (USDFC) CEO, Mr. Scott Nathan, emphasised in his remarks that his organization’s commitments to India represent nearly 10% of its active portfolio and its largest partnership with any one country. Although the USDFC has already invested US$ 1 billion in India’s clean energy industry as climate finance, he continued, the American development bank looks forward to extending its commitment, including in areas like mobility and adaptation.
“India and U.S. are natural partners, who have demonstrated time and again, that they can work together, combine their strengths and tap into synergies whenever humanity faces a crisis [COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent example],” he said.
Today, the two countries have strong convergences and our leaderships have the intent and will to lead the global fight against climate change, he added.
This was evident, during COP-26 in Glasgow last year, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden announced enhanced and ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals.
“In clean technology, India and U.S. together have the world’s best brains and labs to create cutting edge technologies in green infrastructure,” he added.
In his keynote address, Mr. Sandhu quoted Mr. Modi, “75 years of Independence should not be restricted to mere celebrations and rather should be seen as the gateway to take on the challenges in the next 25 years.”
In his remarks, Scott Nathan, CEO of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (USDFC), highlighted that his agency’s commitments in India account for roughly 10 per cent of its active portfolio and marks its largest relationship with any single country.
