India's Climate Leadership: How Bhupender Yadav Charts Global Industrial Transition Path

He underscored India's commitment to collaborative, technology-driven and sustainable industrial transitions under the Paris Agreement.

Opening the session as Co-Chair of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), Yadav noted that the roundtable was being held at a decisive moment in the global climate transition. "This roundtable is happening at a critical time, as the world marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and we have to now move from goal setting to implementation", he stated.

The Minister reaffirmed that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India continues to take forward ambitious domestic, regional and global initiatives spanning renewable energy, disaster resilience, biodiversity conservation and interventions in the industrial sector.

The Minister described LeadIT as one of the most meaningful global collaborations in advancing low-carbon industrial pathways. He stated, "India firmly believes that global partnerships are indispensable and LeadIT, launched jointly by India and Sweden in 2019, stands as a model for such collaboration". It unites governments, industries, and international partners dedicated to advancing low-carbon and competitive industrial value chains, he added.

Yadav informed the gathering that since its launch, LeadIT has grown to 18 member countries and 27 companies, successfully elevating industrial transition on the global climate agenda, supporting transition roadmaps, improving transparency in global decarbonization efforts and building platforms for knowledge exchange.

Emphasizing India's balanced approach to growth and sustainability, the Minister highlighted India's economic expansion with simultaneous reductions in emissions. He informed, "India as the fourth largest economy and the fastest growing major economy has been successful in decoupling its growth from emissions". He added that India reduced its emission intensity of GDP by 36% between 2005 and 2020, demonstrating the country's commitment to harmonizing development with environmental sustainability.

Yadav noted progress made under the Industry Transition Platform (ITP), set up through joint funding from India and Sweden. He informed that 18 industries and research institutions from India and Sweden will soon initiate projects involving value creation from industrial by-products and gases, carbon capture and utilization, artificial intelligence for process optimization, electrification, and hydrogen-based industrial heating.

The Minister further highlighted the LeadIT-facilitated cooperation between Tata Motors and Volvo Group to decarbonize heavy-duty transport. "This partnership illustrates how shared ambition can translate into collective action", he remarked, noting that such collaborations are creating pathways for global industrial transformation.

Announcing the expansion of LeadIT, the Minister said, "Today, we are pleased to welcome SKF as the newest member of the platform". He added that technology sharing will remain central to achieving global sustainable development goals.

Concluding his address, Yadav urged countries, industries and international partners to intensify cooperation. He invited global partners, countries, and industries to join us in accelerating the industrial transition. He added that collective efforts would help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and create a sustainable future for generations to come.

- ANI