IKI India Networking Workshop

The International Climate Initiative (IKI) along with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) organised a two-day workshop on 13 and 14 October 2022 to learn about the developments or progress of the IKI India projects and discover possible synergies between these projects.

The workshop kickstarted with a welcome address by Ms. Karin Deckenbach, GIZ, and swiftly moved onto presentations by different IKI India projects. As part of the highlights, Dr. Winfried Damm, Head of GIZ Energy Team India, presented the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF-SO) and the work being carried out. The two projects presented as part of the Indo-German cooperation were, PtXHub and H2Uppp, both commissioned by BMWK in 2022.

Ms. Deckenbach invited Mr. Neelesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, Indian Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC); Mr. Philipp Behrens, Head of Division, IKI, BMWK; Sophia Engel, Head of Division, BMWK; and Elke Steinmetz, Head of Division International Cooperation on Biodiversity, German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV) to deliver the keynote address.

The notable takeaway from the discussion among the delegates was that climate action plans have mostly been financed by domestic sources in India, and it is now time for international funding.

After having received a brief idea on each IKI India project, working groups were created on the themes of Mitigation, Adaptation & Biodiversity, and Cross-cutting projects.

The working groups focused on five main areas:

  • Identifying the pros and cons of working with the respective partners while learning about the experiences and challenges of each project.
  • Seeking potential contributions to the Indo-German partnership on green and sustainable development.
  • Indicating potential synergies between projects.
  • Learning how to incorporate actions from other projects.
  • Raising questions or suggestions for the German Ministries and MoEFCC.

While the first day of the workshop ended with deep discussions, the second day began with each thematic working group presenting their ideas to the ministry delegates and receiving feedback. 

The day ended with Ms. Vatsala Sharma, Associate Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), launching the IKI India – We Share website to the participants.

IN