Nov 2,2021: India launched its ambitious programme of ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (OSOWOG) at the global climate conference COP26 on the second day of the negotiations. The project was launched along with the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) of the UK.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian PM Narendra Modi jointly presented a One Sun Declaration. It was also decided to set up a ‘Ministerial Steering Group’. The Steering Group includes France, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, and will also have representatives from Africa, the Gulf, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
From India, the OSOWOG is led by the International Solar Alliance (ISA). At the fourth assembly of ISA which was held last month in India, 80 member countries endorsed a political declaration, ‘One Sun Declaration’, for the launch of GGI-OSOWOG at COP26 at Glasgow.
The OSOWOG initiative was presented at the fourth assembly of ISA and as a key enabler of energy transition, the UK and India decided to join hands and merge the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) and OSOWOG into GGI-OSOWOG as part of bilateral cooperation, formalised during the bilateral UK-India Virtual Summit earlier this year.
PM Modi on the second day of his visit to the COP26 also addressed the launch of the ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States’ (IRIS) initiative. IRIS aims to provide technical support on the multifaceted issues posed by infrastructure systems and promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure assets in Small Island developing states (SIDS).
IRIS is a project of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)launched in 2019. CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.
IRIS will work with SIDS to identify opportunities for partnerships and technical collaborations to strengthen infrastructure systems for resilient development in these countries.
Modi said, India will fully support this new project, and work closely with CDRI, other partner countries and the United Nations for its success. “Through IRIS, it will be easier and faster for small island to mobilize technology, finance, and necessary information. Promotion of quality infrastructure in Small Island States will benefit both lives and livelihoods there,” Modi said.
