India, Canada ink pact for stronger cooperation on climate action

New Delhi, Jun 3 (PTI) India and Canada have signed an agreement to increase bilateral cooperation on climate action, environmental protection and conservation.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and his Canadian counterpart Steven Guilbeault signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the margins of the Stockholm+50 meeting.

The meeting is being held to commemorate 50 years of the Stockholm Conference — the first United Nations conference on environment.

Under the pact, the two countries have agreed to collaborate, exchange information and expertise, and support their respective ambition in a wide range of areas, including increasing renewable energy capacity, decarbonizing heavy industries, reducing plastic pollution, supporting the sound management of chemicals, and ensuring sustainable consumption.

"Both countries are intent on supporting each other's climate and environmental goals by finding effective, long-term solutions that will also provide opportunities to advance economic growth and job creation," the Canadian government said in a statement.

Canada has several proven clean technologies which could be of interest to India, such as water and waste management systems, clean hydrogen, smart grids, and energy storage, it said.

"The MoU builds on existing cooperation between both countries, such as our common work as members of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which is advocating for world leaders to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework to conserve 30 per cent of the world's marine and terrestrial areas by 2030 (30 × 30)," the statament read.