India, Germany to hold talks on environment, climate change

India and Germany will hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday  aiming at strengthening the cooperation between the two nations on issues related to environment.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks will hold discussions on various issues related to environment including climate change and sustainable development during their meeting on Wednesday, sources said.

The meeting is happening in the wake of nations preparing national plans for cutting down their carbon emissions after 2020 annually, by an informal deadline of March 31, 2015 to form the basis of a global agreement due in Paris in December this year.

Meanwhile, a German Embassy release said Hendricks and Javadekar will inaugurate the second Indo-German Environment Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday. The two-day event will focus on identifying the necessary framework, challenges and solutions for waste and water management, resource efficiency and sustainable urban development.

During her visit, Hendricks is also scheduled to meet Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, the release said.

The German minister will also hold meeting with Ashok Khosla, President of Development Alternatives, a civil society organisation that addresses the issue of sustainable development.

German Ambassador Michael Steiner said, the visit of Hendricks to India and the Indo-German Environment Forum underline the quality of Indo-German cooperation in this very relevant area for India’s development.