The Ambassador of Germany to India, H.E. Walter J. Lindner, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Lenain, and the Ambassador of the European Union to India, H.E. Ugo Astuto, undertook a joint visit to the city of Kochi, the dynamic port city and economic capital of Kerala, on 12 December 2020, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change. 

Confronted with challenges common to many Indian cities, especially in urban development, mobility and climate change impact, taking the example of recent floods, Kochi illustrates how the Indo-European partnership is helping to address these challenges, in particular by supporting ambitious low carbon urban development policies that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

During the visit, the three Ambassadors visited several key sites of Kochi’s innovative, low carbon mobility network. They witnessed the ongoing works at various boat terminus as well as the under-construction hybrid-electric water metro ferries at the Cochin Shipyard. The Water Metro project including 78 boats and 38 terminals across 15 routes, is financed by KfW Development Bank, Germany. These new hybrid-electric boats are envisaged to reduce the carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. Following this, the envoys visited the Vytilla multi-modal transport hub, took an electric bus ride, experienced the Kochi Metro Rail network financed by AFD, the French Development Agency, as well as the last mile connector, the e-rickshaw. 

Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, highlighted the organisation’s initiatives with respect to gender and social inclusion, and their work on flood mitigation measures, rainwater harvesting and solar power-integration. The visit concluded with planting of saplings by the delegation members at the Muttom Depot.