Climate Change Policies of India and the U.S.: Balancing Domestic Concerns and Advancing Bilateral Climate Cooperation
India and the U.S. have a shared interest in combatting climate change and making climate cooperation a central agenda in their bilateral relationship. Together the U.S. and India contribute 21.4% of the total global carbon emissions. The U.S. is the second largest carbon emitter in the world and India is the third largest emitter. For the effective implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and thereby combatting climate change, it is vital that both India and the U.S. reduce their carbon emissions substantially and shift away from fossil fuel energy use. India is looking up to the U.S. for financial support in its green energy transition. India believes that the U.S. has the historical responsibility, technological capacity, financial resources and soft power capabilities to support climate action. On the other hand, a climate partnership with India is critical for the U.S. in regaining its credibility in the international climate regime, which it had lost with its earlier decisions to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Though the US has re-joined the Paris Agreement under the Biden Administration, how the U.S. would be meeting its decarbonization goals is yet to be seen. India and the U.S. have been strategic partners for a long time. The partnership between both countries is expected to facilitate the transfer of finance and technology in combating climate change. Moreover, in ensuring the compliance of China to its Paris commitments, this partnership is crucial. Nevertheless, the future of the India-U.S. climate cooperation to a great extent is still dependent on how both countries balance their domestic interests and foreign policy goals. In this lecture, the speaker will give an overview of the climate change policies of India and the U.S. and the emerging prospects and challenges in strengthening the bilateral climate cooperation.
Dr. Anu Unny is an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Kerala, India, where she also directs the UGC-Nehru Studies Centre. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Delhi. Anu Unny earned her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Currently, she is a Visiting Fellow at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington as part of her Fulbright Fellowship, where she is engaged in research on the policy and politics of climate change in the US. Apart from climate politics, Dr. Unny is interested in gender issues, India’s foreign policy, and Indian politics.
This talk is supported by an Outreach Lecturing Fund award made to Dr. Unny by the Fulbright Program based on an application from Portland State University (Geography Department) and Portland Community College.