Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
Context: Chris Bowen, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, visits India to enhance the India-Australia Renewable Energy Partnership (REP). This partnership aims to achieve clean energy targets and address supply chain vulnerabilities, reducing dependence on China for critical materials.
Challenges of the Indo-Pacific:
- The Indo-Pacific faces severe impacts from climate change, with 89 million people projected to be displaced by 2050.
- India aims for 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030, with significant contributions from solar energy, and is already five years ahead of schedule.
- Risks of Single-Country Dependence:
- China dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals, solar components, and battery technologies.
- India’s dependence on imports for electric mobility and wind power, and Australia’s reliance on raw material extraction, highlight vulnerabilities in the current system.
- India-Australia Cooperation under REP:
- The REP aims to address challenges by cooperating in areas like solar technology, green hydrogen, energy storage, and solar supply chains.
- Both countries can co-invest in refining and processing infrastructure, ensuring greater control over the clean energy value chain.
- Strengths and Collaboration:
- Australia has rich reserves of lithium and rare earth minerals, and India’s youth and scale offer a strong workforce for clean energy manufacturing.
- India’s growing market for solar, storage, and hydrogen provides opportunities for Australian firms to expand investments.
Conclusion:
- The visit comes at a crucial time, as the two countries can show the world how democracies can build resilient clean energy supply chains to mitigate climate-related risks in the region. By working together, India and Australia can provide a model for climate resilience and clean energy transformation.
