India, Japan sign energy cooperation pact

India and Japan signed a pact on cooperation in energy conservation today at the second round of energy dialogue between two countries.

New Delhi, July 2 : India and Japan signed a pact on cooperation in energy conservation today at the second round of energy dialogue between two countries.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India and the Institute of Energy Economics of Japan (IEEJ), in the presence of Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India.

The two sides inked a joint statement in which Japan agreed to provide industrial development aid to India, in return for the latter implementing energy conservation policies in fifteen identified sectors.

"We have agreed that on one hand, India will make an effort to increase efficiency in energy intensive industries and Japan will provide support in various ways, including Human Resources development," Amari said after signing the pact.

Amari said the long-term vision of Japan's efforts were to arrive at a system wherein energy cooperation could spur economic development.

"Countries that make efforts to address the global environmental issue should not have to do that at the cost of economic development. It is important for us to create a scheme in which a flexible approach can be taken that will reflect the circumstances in each country and that will enable further economic growth in addition to improving the environment. I believe we have been able to take the first step in that direction," he said.

This was the second meeting of the Indo-Japan energy dialogue, which was initiated during Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo in December 2006, followed by Indo-Japan energy talks in April.

The second round of bilateral energy talks precede the India visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, slated in the last week of August.

Japan initiated similar cooperation with Beijing earlier this year, amid growing concerns over global warming.

However, it has failed to get China and India to commit to cut greenhouse gases after 2012, when the current UN-led Kyoto protocol expires.

According to India's planning officials, the country's primary energy demand would increase by six percent a year.

According to the West's energy watchdog, International Energy Agency, India's oil demand in 2007 is expected to rise by 3.4 percent from last year to about 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd).

ANI