INDIA AND EU: NEXT STEPS IN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

India and the European Union (EU) endorsed the India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 at the 15th India-European Union Summit on 15th July 2020. Its objective is to have a common roadmap to guide joint action to strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership till 2025. This partnership aims to get together the values of democracy that both India and the EU uphold to preserve the rules-based international order. Both India and the EU feel that under this partnership they can contribute towards a safer, cleaner and more stable world which will be drastically different post-Covid-19.

- VAIBHAVI PINGALE AND KUNAL TILAK

Climate Change and Clean Energy

When the entire world was under lockdown and humans were forced to live behind the comfort of their homes due to the devastating surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, Earth was breathing a sigh of relief. After years of human-induced emissions, Covid-19 made industries come to a standstill and emissions were at a record low during the same period when this strategic partnership was endorsed. One of the key aspects of this partnership is Climate Change and Clean Energy. It has been detailed out in the partnership in order to maximise the effects of full implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

India-EU partnership in tackling climate change and promotion of clean energy is a very important step in multilateral cooperation on this issue. At a time when many developed nations are putting the blame on India and similar developing nations for their part in global emissions, this multilateral cooperation to tackle the same issue will ease some of the nerves in both New Delhi and Beijing.