Anthony Agotha, EU Special Envoy for Climate and Environment
| Photo Credit: IISD/ENB. Photographer: Kiara Worth
Climate envoys representing Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) held a series of meetings in New Delhi earlier this week with officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and New and Renewable Energy, as well as representatives from industry and research institutions.
The joint diplomatic mission aimed to reinforce EU-India cooperation on climate action, trade, and investment, particularly in the lead-up to future international climate negotiations. Organised in coordination with the European Commission (EC), the talks come in the wake of the recent visit by the College of Commissioners in February, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to expedite the conclusion of the India-EU FTA by the end of the year.
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Speaking at a briefing on Friday (April 4, 2025), Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy for the Netherlands, highlighted the significance of the relationship. “India is an incredibly important trading partner. We are re-calibrating and refocusing on our partners. The EU is a stable partner in a very dynamic world. Following our meetings, we sense that India too is extremely receptive,” he stated.
The talks assume heightened significance following the United States’ decision, under the administration of President Donald Trump, to withdraw from the Paris Agreement for a second time in January 2025, and this week’s launch of trade tariff war.
Anthony Agotha, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment at the EEAS, emphasised the reliability of the European Union. “Coming from the EU, you [India] do not always have to like us. We do not have the monopoly on virtue but neither on vice. What you see is what you get. We fulfil our treaties. As Prime Minister Modi and the EC President have reiterated, we are big democracies, huge pluralist societies with an intent to uphold the multilateral order,” Mr. Agotha said.
The joint EU mission aimed not only to underline the bloc’s own steadfast commitment to its green transition but also to strategize with India on navigating the significant challenges the U.S. withdrawal presents to global climate governance and the goals of the Paris Agreement. This context looms large as nations prepare for COP30, scheduled for Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, where the absence of the U.S. will heavily impact negotiations.
Gerhard Schlaudraff, German Deputy Special Envoy for International Climate Action, noted the existing constraints, stating there was “limited money” available. The U.S. withdrawal is expected to place additional strain on climate finance flows and intensify debates around the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) meant to be finalized at COP30.
Referencing the difficult negotiations at COP29 in Baku, Mr. Schlaudraff contested notions that the EU had reduced ambition, while reiterating the EU and its member states remain significant contributors to climate finance mobilized so far. At COP29 in Baku, developed countries committed to triple climate financing to developing countries from $100 billion to $300 billion annually by 2035, out of $1.35 trillion annually reportedly required to effectively combat climate change.
Published – April 05, 2025 10:30 pm IST