India to Host International Workshop on Paris Climate Agreement

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
As the Paris Climate Agreement comes into force on November 4th, India is gearing up to host an international workshop on “Evolving Energy Models in Emerging Economies-Post COP21” from December 12 – 14, 2016 at Gandhinagar. This will be the first major international event to be held in the country after India’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change announced by the Prime Minister  Narendra Modi on October 2nd, 2016. During the three day workshop, representatives from 30 NAM countries will deliberate on the Paris Climate Agreement and ways to fulfill the commitments made at COP21. Dr. Jayant Sathaye, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Contributor, and a part of IPCCC and COP since the beginning will be the keynote speaker during the workshop.
Organized by Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM) India, the professional body of certified and practicing energy auditors and managers in the country, jointly with Center for Science and Technology for Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre), Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), the workshop will be hosted by the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) with the support of Climate Change Department of Government of Gujarat.
The workshop assumes more significance as the COP22 is being held from November 7 – 18 at Marrakech, Morrocco during which first conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement CMA1 will be held. The Paris Agreement was set to come into force after the threshold of 55 countries accounting for more than 55% of the Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions ratifying it was fulfilled on October 5th.
About 150 participants, including international delegates from 30 developing countries are expected to attend the workshop over three days. Senior officials and industry representatives from countries like Botswana, Brunei, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, will share their country’s preparedness, developmental opportunities and concerns in transforming their commitments to solid actions as committed at COP21, said Prof. Arun P Kulshreshta, Director – NAM S&T Centre,  C Jayaraman, General Secretary – SEEM and Dr. T Harinarayana, Director General – GERMI.

The deliberations are intended to facilitate exchange of knowledge and ideas that will accelerate the fulfillment of India’s Intended Nationally Declared Commitment (INDC) to bring down the emission intensity of our GDP by 33-35% of 2005 levels by 2030. The three day workshop will lead to the Gandhinagar Declaration, which will be a concise note of the conclusions reached and resolutions agreed upon during the workshop.