India, Japan agree to collaborate under UNFCCC

New Delhi, Apr 30 (ANI): India and Japan on Friday reaffirmed their determination to collaborate closely in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards an agreed outcome to be adopted at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties in Mexico in 2010.

Issuing a joint statement on the occasion of the fourth meeting of the Japan-India Energy Dialogue here, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Japanese Trade Minister Masayuki Naoshima noted with satisfaction that India's formal joining of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) in September 2009, and confirmed the importance of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fields of energy efficiency.

Booth ministers also welcomed the progress made in working group discussions by Japanese and Indian officials on energy efficiency, renewable energy, coal and electricity and power generation and the Japan-India Energy Dialogue steering committee meeting

Recognizing that energy policy can also contribute to addressing climate change, the two ministers welcomed the Copenhagen Accord.

They welcomed the progress in NEDO's ongoing commercial-scale model projects for a coke dry-quenching system, diesel generator fuel-switching, and sinter cooler waste heat recovery.

They also welcomed the Asia ESCO conference held by NEDO and BEE in January 2010 in New Delhi to promote the dissemination of ESCO within the Asian region and further encourage investment of Japanese ESCOs in the Indian market.

They expressed satisfaction with the fact that the technical training programme provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to foster Indian energy managers has been extremely useful and hoped that they will continue to play an important role.

Ahluwalia side expressed its appreciation for the assistance from Japan (Energy Conservation Center, Japan) with regard to the ongoing activities as part of energy conservation capacity-building programmes.

He noted that Japan's cooperation in these areas has been reflected in the formulation of India's National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.

However, the Japanese Minister expressed its commitment to the cooperation in these areas through the continued provision of training programmes and dispatch of experts.

He also conveyed its decision to conduct a pre-primary study for improvement of efficiency and environment of coal-fired power stations in India by dispatching experts and providing advice on modifications.

Both the ministers also welcomed the signing of a MoU of the study on improving the thermal efficiency of coal-fired thermal power plants in India and reducing their environmental impact by the Japan Coal Energy Center (JCOAL) and India's Central Electricity Authority (CEA). (ANI)