India-US climate change mitigation to help create well-paying green jobs, says US diplomat Jorgan Andrews

New Delhi: The strides jointly made by India and the US in terms of climate change mitigation and energy transition will not only lead to a better planet but also create green jobs, said Jorgan Andrews, deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in New Delhi, on Tuesday.

India says it is poised to create 30 million green jobs by 2050, marking a significant shift towards sustainability and environmental responsibility in the job market.

In July, both countries renewed their commitments to a US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) to strengthen energy security, create opportunities for clean energy innovation, address climate change and create employment opportunities.

Andrews said that if left unresolved, climate change would have a significant impact on the collective prosperity of both the countries.

“The impact on our collective prosperity, if we do not solve these climate change problems together, is profound. Together, I think we are doing some amazing things both at the government level and in private sector to reduce emissions to help India find a path for growth and development that does not overly exacerbate global climatic challenges and also, these changes would create the well-paying green jobs that I know we would all like to see,” Andrews said at the 21st Indo-US Economic Summit organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi.

Observing the fast pace of growth in bilateral ties, he said that the strengthening and robust ties have provided “tremendous benefit” for people in both the countries.

Quad summit

The statement comes on the heels of bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi US President Joe Biden last week in the US on the sidelines of the Quad summit.

Biden remarked that the partnership between the US and India is “stronger, closer, and more dynamic than ever”.

Both the leaders hailed a significant agreement to set up a new semiconductor fabrication plant in India, supported by the India Semiconductor Mission and a strategic partnership involving Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force.

The Quad leaders also announced the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a partnership aimed at initially combating cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with plans to address other types of cancer in the future.

Andrews said a India-US Commercial Dialogue and a CEO forum will take place next week in Washington with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and the US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo as co-chairs. “This is another one of these crucial links between government and industry that helps us build out,” he said.