ORF America launched the inaugural cohort of the U.S. - India Emerging Climate Leaders Program, an effort to strengthen the energy and climate relationship between the United States and India in 2024. The network of 20 young leaders from the U.S. and India will raise awareness of climate challenges, propose and develop joint climate solutions, and identify and elevate diverse voices. The nine-month professional development program will include: seminars with notable experts, writing workshops, as well as a five-day in-person study tour to India.

In a virtual induction, ORF America Executive Director Dhruva Jaishankar welcomed the cohort by emphasizing that the U.S. - India Emerging Climate Leaders program is part of the bet on the long-term U.S. - India partnership. Deputy Assistant Secretary for India at the U.S. Department of State, Nancy Jackson, reflected on President Biden’s remarks calling the U.S. - India relationship “the defining partnership of the 21st century.” While recognizing the efforts between both countries on an intergovernmental level, she highlighted the importance of efforts such as the ECL to further secure the partnership through collaborative dialogues between stakeholders in non-policy circles such as media, finance, technology, and the private sector. Karthik Iyer, a Counselor at the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C. and the first Designated Officer for Climate Change, stressed the need for civil society and private sector partnerships to develop climate change solutions at scale.

Following speaker remarks and program overview, participants introduced themselves and shared the specific topics they wished to explore further over the next nine months. 

Speakers:

• Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF  America

• Nancy Izzo Jackson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for India, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State

• Karthik Gurunanthan Iyer, Counselor (Political), U.S. Embassy of India, Washington D.C. 

• Moderator: Shayak Sengupta, Fellow,  Energy & Climate, ORF America

Event Summary

ORF America hosted a one-day workshop of Indian energy and climate experts in government, civil society, and private sector to discuss actionable strategies for India to expand cooperation with the United States in energy and climate. A successful state visit from India to the United States in June 2023 has encouraged greater energy and climate cooperation in the next several years. 2024 is a crucial year in both countries to leverage and expand upon the strategic convergences in climate finance, electric mobility and diversified clean energy manufacturing from the state visit. The preceding two years have shown that each country has started initiatives on their own based on respective interests, and the state visit has framed the beginnings of how these initiatives may overlap, complement, or synergize each other, especially given convergences between the United States and India in areas other than energy and climate.

The focus of this event was to gather perspectives from Indian stakeholders to articulate India’s emerging needs for its energy transition in its relationship with the United States. In this closed door, invite-only workshop, panelists discussed several crucial topics, including (1) critical minerals and clean energy supply chains; (2) climate finance; (3) climate resilience and adaptation; (4) green hydrogen, green steel, and fertilizer; and (5) clean and electric mobility.

Speakers:

• Keynote: Dr Hanif Quereshi, Additional Secretary (Automobiles Division), Ministry of Heavy Industries

• Shuva Raha, Head - New Initiatives, Council on Energy, Environment and Water

• Aaran Patel, Director – Climate, The Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation

• Dr. Abhinav Jindal, Senior Faculty – Power Management Institute

• Avantika Goswami, Programme Manager, Climate Change, Centre for Science and Environment

• Dr. Dhruba Purkayastha, India Director, Climate Policy Initiative

• Dr. Vikrom Mathur, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

• Dr. Pooja Ramamurthi, Associate Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress

• Pawan Mulukutla, Executive Program Director - Integrated Transport, Clean Air and Hydrogen, World Resources Institute India

• Hemant Mallya, Fellow, Council on Energy, Environment and Water

• Moderator: Dr Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America

Dubai | December 10, 2023

Background

Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America) hosted a panel discussion (in-person) at COP28 in partnership with Observer Research Foundation, UNOPS, Energy Transition Partnership, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and PepsiCo Foundation.

Renewable Energy will be a key driver of the energy transition. Nevertheless, the financial resources and technologies required for scaling up these energy sources remain predominantly concentrated in the Global North, while the greatest potential for expanding their adoption lies in the Global South. Going forward, resolving this dichotomy will be essential to achieve the Paris climate goals.

In a world committed to achieving climate targets, Asia stands at the forefront of the electric revolution, with unprecedented opportunities in renewable energy supply chain manufacturing. Revised NDCs, Long-Term Strategies and Energy Transition Plans in the APAC region underscore the importance of low-carbon power systems and regional manufacturing capacity. 

How can Renewable Energy be harnessed not only to green the grid but also to address energy accessibility challenges in Global South countries, and especially in Asia? What are the key barriers that continue to hinder their growth? How can the technological and financial divide between the Global South and North be resolved such that the developing world can fully reap the benefits of wind and solar energy?

This event serves as a platform for countries, experts, and institutions to explore ambitious pathways for renewable energy deployment and regional supply chain strengthening, bridging the gap between theory and action. We attempt to uncover evidence-based strategies for power interconnection and manufacturing supply chain empowerment on the road to a net-zero future.

Discussion Brief

Panelists first discussed the role of the private sector in enabling renewable energy adoption in developing countries. Corporate targets to fulfill electricity demand from renewables form a key part of how the private sector can spur renewable energy adoption; however, this is more challenging in developing regions due to lack of transparency in electricity contracts and lack of enabling policy environments. Moreover, for companies whose greenhouse emissions stem predominately from non-energy sources, like agriculture, renewable energy adoption would offer limited ways to reduce corporate emissions footprints.

The role of contracts and enabling policy environments remained consistent themes of discussion. Likewise, panelists indicated stronger power grids in developing regions will enable renewable energy supply to meet electricity demand. Without sufficient power grid capacity, there is a potential for renewable power supply to outpace demand, thus wasting valuable energy. Several topics of discussion fell under the purview of enabling policy environments. These include having adequate market structures that price electricity more precisely according to supply and demand, consistent power demand to give signals to renewable energy project developers, and issues of land and local stakeholder consultation. To address these challenges, developing countries in southeast Asia for example, could better leverage their strengths and benefit from technical assistance from philanthropic and public sources. The discussion concluded with a recognition that renewable energy deployment offers opportunity for developing regions to simultaneously address development and climate goals.

Speakers included: 

• Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America

• Irina Lazzerini, Principal Specialist, Clean Energy, SEforALL

• Wael Ismail, Vice President for Corporate Affairs for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, PepsiCo

• John Cotton, Senior Program Manager, Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership 

• Monika Merdekawati, Research Analyst, ASEAN Centre for Energy

• Gan Gan Dirgantara, Head of Environmental, Social and Technical Evaluation Division, PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero)

• Liz Wharmby, Asia Pacific Lead, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, UK Government

ORF America’s Energy and Climate Program hosted a panel of experts from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of State, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and First Solar to discuss strategies to diversify solar supply chains. Eighty to ninety percent of solar photovoltaic (PV) production capacity is housed in the People’s Republic of China, with some segments heavily concentrated in certain regions, companies, or single facilities. The country dominates capacity due to innovation, economies of scale, and concerted, consistent industrial policy over the preceding decade. This in part has decreased the global prices of solar PV technology, facilitating decarbonization of the power sector. However, several economies including the United States, India, and the European Union, look to grow their share of solar PV manufacturing to mitigate the risks of a heavily concentrated supply chain. Energy security, domestic employment, geopolitical interests, human rights concerns, and decarbonization motivate these efforts. Consequently, national governments have offered incentives to increase respective shares of manufacturing capacity of solar PV components.

Panelists discussed several aspects of these efforts, including challenges of incentive design, solar manufacturing tax credits by the United States, international cooperation to align incentives, and non-cost factors such as employment and social standards that motivate diversification strategies. Data limitations to estimate costs associated with producing solar PV components are especially relevant for geographies that have no current supply chain for solar. This in turn poses challenges to design incentives like subsidies to spur domestic manufacturing capacity. The United States Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) tax credits have spurred announcements of reestablishing solar manufacturing capacity in the United States, with the most in finished solar modules and less upstream of the supply chain. Other tools offered by the United States government for domestic manufacturing include debt financing and technical assistance. International cooperation will be key to align incentives, and the U.S. government welcomes efforts by partner countries to offer similar incentives to build private sector manufacturing capacity and diversify supply chains. Lastly, factors beyond cost such as social and governance standards along with employment creation should motivate incentives. Discussion among participants followed panelist remarks. In summary,  discussion concluded the several themes related to diversifying solar supply chains. Industrial policies to spur solar manufacturing capacity rely  on imperfect information and incentives, especially in settings without the requisite manufacturing ecosystems. Cost is not the only factor behind diversification, likewise subsidies and tariffs are not the only tools available. Proponents of current efforts by national governments including the United States and India cite the need to level the playing field and reduce the risks associated with concentrated solar supply chains in China. The incentives have the potential for “learning by doing” in terms of solar technology and innovation. However there are challenges and uncertainties associated with current approaches due to the pace of change in global solar markets. Open questions still exist on the degree of success of such policies in reducing supply chain concentration. The United States and India offer a case study of these kinds of efforts playing out and the international cooperation underpinning them.

Speakers: 

• Dr. Brittany Smith, Solar Techno-Economic Analyst, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Jake Higdon, U.S. Manufacturing Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy 

• Dr. Courtney Downes, Energy Officer, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State

• Karen Drozdiak, Director of Global Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and Sustainability , First Solar

• Moderator: Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America

Abu Dhabi | November 12th, 2023

Background

On November 12, 2023, ORF America and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), as the Secretariat of the Think20 (T20), in partnership with the Emirates Policy Centre, COP28 UAE, T28, hosted From G20 to COP28: Energy, Climate and Growth in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The conference brought together over 100 delegates from 63 countries to discuss solutions to issues expected to be at the forefront of deliberations at COP28, including energy access, climate and health, climate technology, and climate finance. It identified synergies between the Indian G20 Presidency’s outcomes on climate action and priorities at COP28 with the ultimate goal of formulating a more effective global response to the issues that impede the rapid and equitable progress of climate action.

Speakers included:

• Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President and Founder, Emirates Policy Center, UAE

• H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE

• H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, UAE

• Kate Hampton, CEO, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation

• Samir Saran, Chair, T20 India Secretariat & Member, T20 India Core Group; President, Observer Research Foundation, India

• H.E. Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to UAE

Building Resilient Solar Supply Chains: A CEM-14/ MI-8 Event

ORF America’s Climate and Energy team co-hosted an event with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the 14th Clean Energy and 8th Mission Innovation Ministerial (CEM-14/ MI-8) in Goa, India. The event launched ISA’s report on Building Resilient Global Solar Supply Chains as part of the Transforming Solar Supply Chains CEM workstream. The authors at the Becquerel Institute presented the key findings and results and the International Solar Alliance discussed key steps to building solar supply chains in different regions of the world. During the second half of the event there was a panel discussion with perspectives from the United States, Australia, India, and Ethiopia on next steps for policy to promote regional supply chains, including cross-border trade, supportive manufacturing policy, technology transfer and standards harmonization. Participants highlighted the growing demand over the next for the solar sector, especially with growing demand for green hydrogen. Unfortunately, there are bottlenecks and supply is overwhelmingly concentrated in China.  Short term incentives for national schemes are essential for even geographical distribution of manufacturing. Representation from the Asian Development Bank noted the importance of solar in achieving net zero, financing rooftop solar solar initiatives in India, and translating and tweaking the success of best practices between countries. These types of financing have positive spillover effects, attracting the private sector. American representation highlighted recent legislation like the IRA that has combined domestic and foreign policy objectives to offer competitive incentive packages. The need to quantify resilience of global supply chains to ensure a just energy transition was pointed out as an important objective for all forthcoming initiatives.   

Speakers:

1. John Grimes, CEO, Smart Energy Council (Australia)

2. Professor Ardeshir Contractor, Ohio State University/IIT Bombay

3. Doug Arent, Executive Director, Strategic Public-Private Partnerships, NREL

4. Tewabech Workie, CEO, Ethiopian Solar Energy Development Association

5. Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance

6. Assem Kumar, Director, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India

7. Miriam K. D’Onofrio, Director of Energy Transition, National Security Council

8. Pradeep Thakaran, Director, Energy Transition, ADB 

9. Dr. Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division, IEA

10. Alexander Hogeveen Rutter, Private Sector Specialist, ISA 

11. Rishabh Jain, Senior Program Lead, CEEW

12. Shayak Sengupta, Fellow Climate and Energy, ORF America 

Reception for the Clean Energy Community
ORF America’s Energy and Climate team also invited partners, and friends to welcome everyone to Goa, India, for the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial, the 8th Mission Innovation Ministerial (CEM-14/MI-8), and the G20 Energy Ministerial. Attendees included representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society: the Smart Energy Council Australia, Sustainable Energy  for All, National Solar Energy Federation of India, the US India Business Council (USIBC), CSTEP, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), SED Fund, Institute for Energy and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), CSIS, Climate Works, World Resource Institute (WRI), Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIIF), LanzaTech, India Climate Collaborative, Climate Trends, and many other important stakeholders.

ORF America hosted a group of climate and energy policy experts for a breakfast discussion with Observer Research Foundation chairman Sunjoy Joshi to break down the climate and energy outcomes of Prime Minister Modi’s state visit in June 2023.

Mr. Joshi anchored the state visit in the context of a climate and energy backlog in the bilateral relationship, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19, and disruptions to global energy flows. He discussed the main issues and technological focuses of the bilateral relationship including geopolitical alignment, hydrogen, and modular nuclear reactors and emphasized the potential for expanded U.S.-India cooperation.

The discussion also explored the geopolitics of climate finance and energy security as well as templates for cooperation between the Global North and South where he sees leading roles for the US and India. Mr. Joshi and participants discussed renewable energy component supply chains like polysilicon for solar energy manufacturing, China’s role in the renewable energy technology industry, critical minerals for the energy transition, the need for governments to help mobilize climate finance, and the Global South’s increasing influence in international climate negotiations.

ORF America and the Center for the Study of Science, Technology & Policy jointly organized a one-day workshop of technical and policy experts that took stock and assessed the state of air quality models in India. The panel of experts included experts from Carnegie Mellon University,  IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, CDAC, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, UrbanEmissions, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, University of Minnesota, and the Central Pollution Control Board of India.  The gathering understood from stakeholders how these tools are used, associated challenges, and whether newer generation of lower-cost models currently under development can provide alternatives to resource-intensive conventional methods. A working paper taking stock of lower-cost air pollution models for use in low and middle-income countries will also be presented for discussion. 

Background

In India alone, air pollution was responsible for about 1.7 million deaths, mirroring the disproportionate burden of poor air quality that largely falls on low- and middle-income countries. Air pollution annually costs India about $36.8 billion or 1.36% of GDP, incurring not only health costs but economic damages as well. To reduce air pollution, in 2019 the Government of India launched the National Clean Air Action Programme (NCAP), a nationwide set of time-bound action plans targeting cities that fail to meet Indian national ambient air quality standards.

In recent years newer, more cost-effective technological advances have emerged to manage air quality. These lower-cost models estimate the impact that pollution control policies will have on air quality and associated social costs. They provide alternatives to data and resource-intensive methods for policy analyses for a wide audience of citizens, policymakers, industries, and civil society at large. However, it is unclear how this technology could be used to address the interests of diverse stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries.

Conclusion 

The theme emerging from discussions was the need to have common framework of data and tools to manage air quality in India, one that is flexible, scalable, and reproducible to both meet the diversity of the country and its growth. Likewise, there was agreement that new, lower-cost tools could address this need, but additional capacity building and outreach to government and the public at-large was necessary.

Speakers

• Peter Adams, Carnegie Mellon University

• Srinidhi Balasubramanian, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

• Pallavi Joshi, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

• Akshara Kaginalkar, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

• Sachin Ghude, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

• Sarath Guttikunda, UrbanEmissions

• Arshini Saikia, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

• Shayak Sengupta, ORF America

• Sumil Thakrar, University of Minnesota

Background

On May 30th, U.S. and Indian government officials as well as leaders of multilateral, and civil society organizations working on energy transition and climate finance joined ORF America, E3G, and the Embassy of India in Washington, DC, for an informative closed-door virtual dialogue. Dr. Ravi Kota, the head of the economic wing of the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, gave a keynote address on behalf of the Ambassador of India to the United States, Amb. Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The panel was followed by a roundtable discussion.

Participants discussed how multilateral action on energy transition and climate finance can accelerate and the role of the U.S.-India strategic clean energy partnership could play in advancing solutions.

Discussion Summary

Participants saw strong potential in the U.S.-India partnership and noted both countries’ ambitious targets, their membership in many of the same multilateral organizations, and their clean energy commercial ties. Two key issues highlighted were the need for rapid expansion of clean energy and energy efficiency measures, and measures to finance the energy transitions. Studies show that to keep the world on track to meet temperature goals, renewable capacity additions will need to increase from current 300GW to over 1TW by 2030. Rapid, equitable, and sufficient growth clean energy is required to phase-down and phase-out of fossil fuels.  

In particular, the conversation focused on the challenges of financing the energy transition and measures that can mobilize increased climate finance. Participants described progress on clean energy financing which is expected to surpass fossil fuel financing globally in 2023. Nevertheless, they explained that the ratio of clean energy to fossil fuel finance needs to be close to 10:1 in 2030 compared to current less than 2:1. Furthermore, participants stressed that climate finance is disproportionately going to developed countries and much more climate finance is needed in developing countries. One of the suggestions was for the G20 to call for a climate solidarity pact, calling on major countries to put extra efforts and wealthy nations to mobilize funds and the needed technology support. 

In developing countries, real and perceived investment risks and emerging industries can make it difficult to attract private capital for the energy transition. Particular risks that the participants described include currency volatility, less dependable political landscapes, and less developed industries to support investments. The roundtable’s participants also identified a number of potential solutions including asset recycling, risk insurance, loan guarantees, and regional platforms for aggregating demand and pooling in investors. But along with private capital, there needs to be an increase in both domestic and international sources of public funds, particularly for those sectors where it could be difficult to attract private investments, for example power distribution and transmission. 

Drawing from the experience of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JET-P), working on economy-wide transition planning and raising country ambitions is a useful way of signaling high-level political ambition and mobilizing public and private investments. However, participants also emphasized that this must occur with clean energy at sufficient scale and low enough cost to secure energy access. The G20 can play an important role in standardizing the notion of transition planning, which makes it easier for the private sector to get involved. On the JETPs themselves, participants highlighted their potential and the need for developing country-specific models. 

Participants also pointed to important solutions such as blended finance instruments for public investment and creating project pipelines for attracting capital. The roundtable also included a productive discussion of disaggregating climate finance. By breaking the energy system into particular sectors and even technologies, financing will become less daunting and it will be easier to identify where financing is most necessary, what the best sources of funding are, and where risk lies. The participants concluded that solutions are there but unlocking climate finance means further prioritizing the challenges and developing new financial and policy instruments.

Keynote

• Dr. Ravi Kota, Minister (Economic), Embassy of India in the United States on behalf of Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the United States

Panel

• Dinesh Jagdale, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India

• Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development, U.S. Department of Treasury

• Vivek Pathak, Director and Global Head of Climate Business, International Finance Corporation

• Claire Healy, Senior Associate, E3G (Moderator)

ORF America’s Energy and Climate Program hosted a panel of experts from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the World Bank, and Energy Futures Initiative to discuss regional perspectives on hydrogen deployment. The discussion explored the international dimensions of hydrogen, including its geo-economics, policy, and techno-economics and its role in the energy transition. The panelists stressed the hydrogen industry’s anticipated growth like that of the LNG industry as well as hydrogen’s role in the energy transition, especially in hard to decarbonize sectors. They explained how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, and the National Green Hydrogen in India will accelerate each industry's growth. Panelists also explored a number of challenges the global hydrogen industry will face as it matures. One challenge identified by the participants is transporting hydrogen, given that it is significantly less dense than liquified gas and requires yet-to-be built infrastructure. A second is lowering the risk of hydrogen projects sufficiently to attract capital and access to capital in developing countries, which already pay a risk premium for investment. A third is technology sharing across countries that balances protecting domestic  competitiveness and promoting the industry's growth globally. Panelists predicted that as the hydrogen industry matures, costs will decrease with economies of scale, capital will be easier to access, and markets will find solutions to both technical and hydrogen use-case questions. In India specifically, panelists discussed trade-offs between using that power directly for electricity or for producing green hydrogen. Panelists concluded that domestically produced green hydrogen can increase Indian energy security and that U.S. investments in hydrogen research and development (R&D) will benefit India and the rest of the world with sufficient international technical cooperation

Featuring

• Dr. Kenneth R. Vincent, Director of the Office of Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

• Hiroyuki Suzuki, Chief Representative, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) 

• Richard (Rick) W. Westerdale II, P.E., Executive Director, Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) 

• Thomas Kerr, Lead Climate Specialist, South Asia, The World Bank Group

• Moderator: Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America 

ORF America hosted an in-person breakfast roundtable discussion with David Livingston, Managing Director & Senior Advisor, Clean Energy & Innovation in the office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. Graduate students from the Harvard Kennedy School were invited to this roundtable to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities for U.S. International Climate and Energy Policy. 

In the backdrop of rejoining the Paris Agreement, participation in global climate pledges, and the passage of significant climate and energy legislation through congress, like the Inflation Reduction Act, participants discussed the leadership of the United States on global climate actions. 

An overarching theme of the discussion was the national, subnational, and transnational implementation of climate diplomacy and policy. It was agreed that climate diplomacy leaves out several critical stakeholders because it is constructed around national borders and the nation state. These structures are not suitable for sectoral access and implementation of climate policy in global supply chains. Participants noted that the effects of regionally disparate climate policy have begun to materialize as climate competition.

This discussion included a special focus on the potential of government procurement to compress innovation timelines, and reduce costs of clean energy. Participants cited several examples of the successful creation of advanced market conditions through the deployment of government purchase commitments, including solar energy and Covid-19 vaccines. Most recently, similar procurement mechanisms have been introduced in the hydrogen and green shipping markets.

Featuring

• David Livingston, Managing Director & Senior Advisor, Clean Energy & Innovation, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Department of State

• Karan Takhar, Master in Public Policy Student, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

• Moderator: Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America 

U.S.-India Energy and Climate Ahead of COP 27

Washington DC | October 11th, 2022

Ahead of global climate negotiations at COP 27 in Egypt in November, ORF America hosted a panel discussion on the state of U.S.-India energy and climate cooperation. Since previous climate talks at COP 26 in Glasgow, both challenges and opportunities in energy and climate have unfolded for the United States and India. This panel discussion explored “what to look for” ahead of these climate talks given latest developments.

The panel described the mood going into next month's climate talks at COP 27 as one of "delivery" and "implementation." While 90% of the global economy is under some sort of net-zero emission target, the talks will require countries to coalesce and take concrete steps to not only decarbonize their economies, but also address finance, resilience, and adaptation as well in pursuit of these net-zero goals. Russia's war in Ukraine and accompanying shocks to global energy markets present geopolitical difficulties ahead of the talks. Since COP 26, these developments have widened divides, which means there is more pressure on countries to talk to each other and cooperate to implement net-zero goals. Short-term energy security and development objectives must align with long-term decarbonization imperatives, but through diverse pathways with no "one-size-fits-all."

Beyond COP 27, panelists also discussed India's upcoming presidency of the G20 and hosting of the Clean Energy Ministerial, an intergovernmental grouping of major economies investing in clean energy. India's priorities next year when chairing these two groups include sustainable growth, digital public infrastructure, and other topics applicable to climate action. Through these fora, India can provide solutions to climate adaptation, resilience, and a modern resilient energy system.

Lastly, the panel discussed the recent Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, which made historic investments in clean energy. The act increases U.S. credibility at COP 27, and presents a basis for further cooperation between the United States and India. However, more needs to be done by the United States and Europe to help developing countries in their clean energy transitions.

Featured Speakers:

• Claire Healy, Director of Washington Office, E3G

• Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman, Observer Research Foundation

• Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America (moderator)

ORF America and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum co-hosted a roundtable of senior leaders in government, civil society, and the private sector at the sidelines of the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. GCEAF was the meeting of the 13th Clean Energy Ministerial and 7th Mission Innovation hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk and Director General of the International Solar Alliance Dr. Ajay Mathur provided keynote remarks followed by discussion amongst participants. They discussed current cooperation between the United States and India, including hydrogen, manufacturing, and scaling clean energy technologies in the developing world. Moreover, participants from civil society highlighted the ongoing people-to-people collaborations in clean energy between the United States and India.

Washington DC | April 26th, 2022

I. Welcome Remarks

• Sharon Stirling, Chief Operating Officer, ORF America

• Dhruva Jaishankar Executive Director, ORF America (Read here)

II. The United States in the Indo-Pacific

• Michèle Flournoy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WestExec Advisors & former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

• Michael Fullilove, Executive Director, The Lowy Institute, Australia

• Bill Hagerty, U.S. Senator (R-Tenn.) and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan

• Mira Rapp-Hooper, Director, Indo-Pacific, U.S. National Security Council

• Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America (moderator)

The panel covered a wide swath of issues animating contemporary U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region; the China challenge, Aukus, regional partnerships with ASEAN, India and Taiwan and the White House Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Senator Hagerty emphasized the importance of India and Japan and called for the U.S. to strengthen its economic and energy presence in the Indo-Pacific. Michele Flournoy stressed on the vital U.S. interests at stake namely China’s challenge to the regional rules-based order and foreshadowed that Taiwan could be a future flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. Mira Rapp-Hooper reiterated that U.S. prosperity and security is tied to the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the ongoing inter-agency coordination in implementing and resourcing the Indo-Pacific strategy. Michael Fullilove signaled Australia’s receptiveness with the U.S. government’s “allies first” approach and underlined the bipartisan nature of Australia’s concerns with China. Overall, there was strong convergence on the U.S. to buttress its regional partnerships and alliances to enhance deterrence as well as pool resources to address shared challenges. Also, speakers suggested the need to widen the conceptual appeal of the Indo-Pacific within the U.S. and boost people-to-people ties in the region.

III. Energy Security & Access: US Cooperation with the Developing World

• Katie Auth, Policy Director, Energy for Growth Hub

• Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy

• Varun Sivaram, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

• Shayak Sengupta, Fellow, Energy and Climate, ORF America (moderator)

The panel covered critical questions around energy poverty, energy transitions, and energy security, focusing on developing countries. Rising energy prices resulting from the conflict in Ukraine, declining access to energy resulting from the pandemic, and climate change are all posing substantial and unique challenges for countries around the world. Speakers noted that energy discourse tends to be dominated by the EU and the United States, but this masks the unique and differentiated challenges faced by developing countries. The speakers highlighted that most developing countries are creating energy solutions of their own that must be harnessed and supported. This requires the mobilization of capital, especially public finance. It also requires the forging of mutually beneficial partnerships to catalyze existing technologies and lead to innovation.

IV. Securing Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure

• Betsie Chacko, Associate Director, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

• Chris DeRusha, Federal Chief Information Security Officer, U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• Elina Noor, Director, Political-Security Affairs, The Asia Society Policy Institute

• Bruce McConnell, Distinguished Fellow, ORF America (moderator)

Participants discussed the multifaceted challenges to coordination and cooperation in tackling cyberspace threats, both within the U.S. government, as well as internationally. Chris DeRusha argued that taking advantage of the different approaches that governments take to solve the common challenges of cyberspace is necessary. Betsie Chacko suggested that improved information sharing with partners is a critical part of collective defense because cyberspace issues do not respect national borders. Elina Noor stressed the importance of broadening the lens on cyberspace challenges, and the need to think beyond the major cyber powers and involve the perspectives of smaller countries. All three speakers were clear that more international efforts were necessary to secure cyberspace and that cooperation needed to go beyond buzzwords and become more tangible.