Last year, India and Denmark were in the limelight for introducing a unique initiative—the Green Strategic Partnership, a novel arrangement that prioritizes green and sustainable development as the core area of bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The partnership was brought at a time when global warming and later the pandemic, had changed the course of the world in toto. Since the first anniversary of the partnership is approaching, it is important to explore the impactful stakes involved in the agreement.
In a globalized era, sustainability has become a matter of survival and subsistence for countries around the world. Against this backdrop, the partnership creatively intertwines dynamism and sustainability with economic growth. In this regard, both countries have agreed to focus on a plethora of spheres, like climate change, green energy, multilateral cooperation. Having said that, there are three sectors where the partnership has an inherent potential to stand out: wind energy, water management, and urban development.
Wind Energy: Advantage Denmark
India’s position on renewable energy has come a long way since the advent of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In the last decade, a noticeable feature was that the Indian government gave primacy to clean and green energy, and as per the latest reports, the results are very promising.
In record time, India has almost reached its 2030 renewable energy target set by the Paris Agreement. Moreover, even during the pandemic, the Indian renewable energy sector witnessed a significant inflow of investment from domestic and international sources, mainly in solar and wind energy. With the induction of the Green Strategic Partnership, India is set to benefit from Denmark’s forte in renewable energy, especially wind power.
Since the ’70s, Denmark has heavily invested in wind energy as an alternative to conventional fossil-fuelled energy sources. Crucially, it has showcased a political will, like many of its Nordic counterparts, to shift the focus towards sustainable energy by encouraging wind power as a lucrative investment. Today, Denmark has the largest proportion of wind turbines in the world and sources around 50% of its electricity from wind power.
The Green Strategic Partnership offers an opportunity for India to seek expert assistance from Denmark in wind power. From capacity building, research, joint projects, and technology transfer, there is ample scope for Denmark to contribute through existing engagements and the proposed India-Denmark Energy Partnership. One key area that could prove fruitful for India is offshore wind power.
In the last couple of decades, Denmark has emerged as a pioneer in offshore wind power and has advanced to an extent that it has built more than a quarter of the offshore wind farms in the world. Presently, Denmark is even setting up colossal wind farms by creating artificial islands in the North Sea. Since offshore wind power is specifically mentioned in the partnership, India may see a Danish hand in setting up offshore wind farms and providing the necessary know-how to upgrade existing technology.
Water Management: Focus on Groundwater and Wastewater Treatment
Being a necessity, water is one of the major heads in the Green Strategic Partnership that cannot be ignored. From an Indian outlook, a major problem that is being witnessed is that even though India has thousands of rivers and water bodies, they are either not clean or accessible to all. Groundwater, a major water source, is gradually depleting in regions across India, either because of inadequate recharge, pollution, or overutilization. Given these circumstances, Denmark’s sustainable model in water management is key to India and the partnership.
Denmark has been credited for its advanced water management techniques and sustainable methods to provide access to clean water. Groundwater management is an area where its skills speak volumes and it has made productive contributions by utilising unique methods such as groundwater mapping and modelling that provide efficient ways to access groundwater sources. The Danes also have showcased their expertise and skills in reducing non-revenue water (NRW), or in simple terms, undetected leakages in supply through cutting edge accessories, valves, meters, and equipment.
Under the Green Strategic Partnership, Denmark’s finesse could be put to India’s advantage to improve water quality and supply. Currently, as a part of the proposed Indo-Danish Water Technology Alliance, Denmark is collaborating with various institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology’s (IIT’s), Water Resources Ministry, and state governments for conducting joint research and development projects associated with groundwater and leakage management.
Wastewater treatment is another sub-sector where Denmark is said to have made significant strides. Denmark treats almost 95% of its wastewater and has the unique credit of being one of the first countries to even produce energy from wastewater. In this regard, there are promising prospects for Denmark to guide India on several projects ranging from urban wastewater treatment to river cleaning initiatives such as the Clean Ganga Mission.
Urban Development: Creating Smart and Sustainable Cities
Urban development is an important part of the Green Partnership and both countries have agreed to collaborate in advancing sustainable urbanisation in smart cities. For India, this is a great step as it is congruent to its domestic agenda under the Smart Cities Mission. According to the Smart Cities Mission, India ambitiously plans to foster local economic growth, improve quality of life, and harness the latest technology for developing cities sustainably. In this light, Denmark’s proficiency in forging sustainable designs for its urban development projects is noteworthy.
Denmark has an excellent track record for nurturing smart and sustainable cities. For example, through efficient and holistic planning, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is on the verge of becoming the first carbon-neutral city in the world by 2025. Thanks to state-of-the-art sustainable management mechanisms like smart sewers, real-time air quality monitors, waste-to-energy plants, etc, Copenhagen has shown the world that sustainable urbanisation is not an impossible feat.
Moreover, the trend is not restricted to Copenhagen alone. Cities like Aarhus, Vejle, and Sønderborg have all excelled in sustainable urban planning, either by relying on green and renewable energy or improving climate change resilience via digital technologies. Keeping this in mind, the Green Strategic Partnership provides a great opportunity for India to solicit support from Denmark in urban development.
In fact, the Partnership stresses on urban living labs and smart city cooperation. India’s first Urban Living Lab was established in Panaji with Danish support and is designated as a hub of bilateral cooperation between the two countries on sustainable urban development. The lab also cooperates with other smart cities in the country.
In addition, for enhancing city-to-city cooperation, two smart cities from India—Udaipur and Tumakuru—have been identified and respectively paired with the Danish cities of Aarhus and Aalborg. Through this initiative, the aforementioned Indian cities get a first-hand opportunity to learn from landmark cities in terms of creating sustainable urban ecosystems.
The Green Strategic Partnership also conjoins sustainability with India’s foreign policy. As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi eloquently sums it—“Denmark has the skills, India has the scale,” and through their partnership, Denmark’s prowess in sustainable development meets India’s emerging needs. From a policy perspective, the initiative provides an excellent platform for India to explore the Denmark Model of Green and Sustainable Development. Sectors such as health, agriculture, science, and technology also have a significant role to play in the partnership.
Moreover, it is also projected that the partnership will provide an ideal precursor for India to actively engage in sustainable development and climate change while negotiations resume for the long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). This is a pertinent aspect to note, as the EU considers green transition to be a major agenda for consideration in the FTA, and with the recently approved EU Green Deal in the picture, it is almost certain that climate change, clean energy investment, and green technologies would be an important discussion point during negotiations.
Furthermore, due to India’s “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” pitch, the green partnership may also pave way for key investments from Danish Companies in various sectors. This could in turn allow India to advance its technological and manufacturing capabilities.
Remarkably, both India and Denmark have already begun their work through sector-wise joint commissions and working groups, and the progress is encouraging and enterprising. Noting the developments, Denmark is currently in the driver’s seat. It is certain that in the near future the Green Strategic Partnership will amplify India’s perception of green economy and sustainable governance. Hopefully, based on its experience, skills, and expertise, Denmark will turn out to be an invaluable partner for India in reaching greener pastures in sustainable development.
Indo-Danish Green Strategic Partnership: A Novel Step Towards a Sustainable Future
India’s partnership with Denmark stands to offer unique and valuable opportunities in wind energy, water management, and urban development.
September 7, 2021
Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod (L) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi SOURCE: LIVE MINT