On Wednesday, it was announced that Indian-born British Cabinet minister Alok Sharma will travel to India from July 21-22 to lead the UN climate summit (COP26). During his visit, he will also hear from the local community about the impact of climate change on them. Following COP26 in Glasgow and in the final weeks of India’s G20 presidency, this visit is an opportunity to reinforce and support progress and delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact.
Alok Sharma will visit India again as the UK COP President to press for updated climate commitments from all countries, while meeting with senior ministers and climate leaders to discuss India’s ambitious climate plans and progress on smart grid upgrades, electric vehicles, and affordable energy storage.
In the meantime, Sharma will visit the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters on the campus of the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Delhi.
He will see renewable energy generation in operation and discuss ways to progress the Green Grids Initiative — One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), a product of a UK-India partnership aimed at increasing global support for green power infrastructure. While in Delhi, Sharma will attend the apex government of India think-tank NITI Aayog’s joint launch of UK-India projects on electric transportation.
The collaboration between the UK government and NITI Aayog has been critical in moving Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) initiatives introduced during the UK’s COP26 Presidency forwards. He will pay a visit to the Centre for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to get an update on progress since COP26 and to talk about specific prospects.
As India experiences record heatwaves, Sharma will connect with the local population to learn how climate change is directly affecting them and how excessive heat affects their livelihoods in the city. Following his visit to India, the COP President will go to Australia and then to Fiji to engage with governments, states, enterprises, and civil society in favour of stronger climate action in advance of COP27 in Egypt, according to an official release.
