Inaugural Session of India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue Concludes, but Much is Left to be Done.

A further step towards strengthening U.S.-India cooperation was taken last week, with the inaugural meeting of the India – U.S. Strategic Dialogue that took place from June 1-4 in Washington D.C.  Amongst other issues, the two sides discussed energy security, clean energy and climate change and reiterated their mutual commitment to tackling this challenge. 

President Obama welcomed the visiting delegation and addressed high-level representatives from both sides at the start of the session, expressing his optimism about India-U.S. relations and India’s growing strategic role at the international stage. The President stated that a fundamental pillar of America’s comprehensive engagement with the world involves deepening cooperation with 21st century centers of influence, and that India was one such center.  

In an OpEd published in The Times of India, Senator John Kerry pointed out the importance of  climate change in the Strategic Dialogue. He remarked that it is in the interest of both countries to move beyond the sterile debate over carbon limits. Senator Kerry emphasized that the quest for new technologies and fresh ideas to make renewable energy economically viable is the big prize of the 21st century, and that both countries need to work together as partners rather than rivals to win this prize. 

The Indian delegation for the Strategic Dialogue was led by External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna, and the U.S. delegation was led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna discussed progress made on the U.S.-India Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate Change, signed in November 2009 during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s state visit to the U.S. Both sides reiterated the key role of the agreement in achieving sustainable development and a clean energy future. They also stressed that the goal of establishing a Joint Clean Energy Research Center and accelerating collaborative efforts to deploy clean energy technologies in both countries remains a priority. The “Partnership to Advance Clean Energy” (PACE), to be launched by both countries to take full advantage of multi-agency coordination and engagement with the private sector, was recognized as an important step forward in developing and deploying clean energy. 

Notably, Minister Krishna and Secretary Clinton reaffirmed their support for the Copenhagen Accord as a positive step forward in meeting the global climate challenge, and underscored its importance in building consensus in the ongoing negotiations under the UNFCCC in pursuance of the Bali Action Plan, towards a successful outcome at the Sixteenth Conference of Parties at Cancun, Mexico, later this year. 

They also welcomed the launch of the India-U.S. Climate Dialogue, which seeks to enhance bilateral U.S.-India cooperation with the aim of achieving a successful outcome of the ongoing multilateral climate change negotiations. Both sides underscored the importance of the Climate Dialogue in focusing and coordinating both countries’ priorities in dealing with climate change, consistent with their national policies and strategies. Climate science was highlighted as an area for strengthened collaboration and joint development. 

The strategic dialogue was an opportunity for both countries to reaffirm existing commitments and articulate why bilateral relations between the two nations are of critical importance in the current geo-political, economic and environmental landscape. At the conclusion of the dialogue, Secretary Clinton reaffirmed that the U.S.-India relationship is based on “common values and shared aspirations”, and called it “an affair of the heart”. 

Some observers complained that much of the discussion remained in the realm of symbolism, and argued that more concrete measures are now needed to actually effectuate the wide range of commitments.  However, after consultations with U.S. and Indian government officials, NRDC finds that progress in fact is being made towards a major expansion of cooperation between the two governments on climate change and energy.  The Obama Administration is dramatically increasing climate change assistance to developing nations. In fact, a high-ranking State Department official said recently that India would be receiving more such assistance from the U.S. than any other developing country.  Our own initial estimate is that level of U.S. support in energy and environmental area will go from the previous few million dollars a year to $20-25 million or more.  

President Obama’s visit to India (now scheduled for early November 2010, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh) will provide an impetus for  the actual launch of the clean energy research center and the PACE Initiative.   We also hope that President Obama and Prime Minister Singh will have an opportunity to discuss how our countries can again work together to make progress in addressing climate change at the next round of negotiations scheduled for Cancun in December.