India, Japan to firm up plans for energy ties

New Delhi: India and Japan today agreed to set specific goals and firm up voluntary action plans to improve energy efficiency and increase cooperation in the development of renewable sources.

“Based on the ‘Cebu Declaration on Energy Security in East Asia’ adopted at the Second East Asia Summit, both sides agreed to set individual goals and formulate action plans voluntarily for improving energy efficiency,” a joint statement issued at the end of the second meeting of the India-Japan energy dialogue said.

India and Japan will explore ways and means to further cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy sources, said the statement signed by Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Mr Akira Amari, and the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The Indo-Japan energy cooperation does not involve development of nuclear energy sources, Mr Ahluwalia clarified, while addressing the media along with Mr Amari. The two countries, however, underlined the need for increasing cooperation among private and public business operators for promoting clean development mechanism projects based on Kyoto Protocol.

At the conclusion of the energy dialogue, The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Institute of Energy Economics of Japan signed an MoU to undertake research and study on energy challenges in the world in general, and India and Japan in particular.

Energy meet

Mr Amari said Indo-Japan partnership efforts would be strengthened in the East Asia Summit, the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate and an energy meet scheduled to be held in Japan in June 2008. Stating that Japan will support energy audit evaluations in specific industrial sectors (such as iron and steel and cement), which can serve as APP projects, Mr Amari said his ministry would provide training on energy efficiency and conservation policy and technology to 200 trainees over the next three years.

Both the sides also agreed to accelerate the formulation of energy efficiency and conservation policy by preparing collaborative working plans to enhance the policy implementation, the joint statement said. Japan will specifically assist India in reducing energy consumption in 15 identified energy-intensive sectors through energy audits and adopting reduced energy consumption norms, it added.

Japan’s energy ministry, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation, the energy Conservation Centre and other organisations will increase cooperation on energy issues with the Indian Power Ministry and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the statement said. Japan also agreed to support increased cooperation between the International Energy Agency and India in areas including oil stockpiling.