Introduction remarks by President von der Leyen at The Energy and Resources Institute

Thank you very much for having me here, Dr Dhawan. Thank you very much for inviting me to TERI.

Indeed, there is a long-standing cooperation between the European Union and TERI to the benefit of the two of us. And we have done many, many projects together. And we have had many successes in research and development together. So it is wonderful for me to be here and to see for the very first time what TERI is, in real life. We share the same concern, and that is the concern for our climate, our planet, nature around us, and the environment we are living in.

And if I look at you, the young people – you are approximately the age of my children – I have a very clear idea what your worries are, but also what your opportunities are. Because we all know that climate change is solely man-made, so it is us. But this also gives us the opportunity – climate change is critical, but it is up to us to change something, we can do something about it. It is a problem but also an opportunity. And I think that TERI is living what the opportunities are, that we work together on looking at the root causes of climate change. We know them. It is basically CO2 emissions and the change in biodiversity, or the loss of biodiversity. But we can do something. We can fix it. And this is our common vision.

In the European Union, as you might know, we have, with my mandate, developed the European Green Deal, which says basically that we have one chance, and that is: cut emissions; go into clean, green, renewable energies; limit waste; look into the circular economy. And we are deeply convinced that this is our new growth model. So we are aware that there are demands out there, there are people who want to benefit, that energy consumption will increase, for example. But we can do it in a way that is good for our environment, good for our climate and is of benefit for us.

And therefore, I think that India and the European Union have a lot in common. I have looked at your goals to have 50% of energy coming from renewables in 2030. This is a very ambitious goal. Congratulations for that. We share the idea that we really have to look into solar energy; wind energy; biomass; hydropower; green hydrogen, a big topic; geothermal. So these are the ingredients for success. Success for the economy. Success and benefit for the people. And, of course, protection of our climate and our environment.

And therefore, protecting the environment, protecting the climate has a lot to do with innovation. This is also what we have in common. With innovation I am deeply convinced that our world either takes the right direction in cutting emissions and protecting the environment, but then we will need clean, innovative technologies. That is what we are looking into. And if the world does that, the demand for these technologies will be enormous. Therefore, there is such a business case and business opportunity for  development and research in innovation into clean technologies.

The other side, the ‘or if we do not do it', I do not have to tell you anything about it. I have read that the month of March was the hottest here in India since the last 122 years. And we also have the experience of the huge damage of climate change, with horrible floodings, deadly floodings last summer in Europe. Hurricanes in a region where we never ever, ever had this in the European Union. But also droughts, wildfires. And, I think, I tell you something which is familiar to you.

So we are aware of the risks of climate change, but we take it in a way that we say: We answer with innovation; we answer with smart ideas; we answer with renewables; our answer is the circular economy. And therefore, I am very much looking forward to listening to you. But also – and this is the reason why I am here in India – because I think that there is a lot of untapped potential between the European Union and India, we

have a lot in common. And joining forces, we can do so much together for the benefit of our people but also for the benefit of our climate and our planet.

And therefore, I am very happy to be here. Thank you very much for having me here to answer your questions and to go into a dialogue with you.