SCO nations bat for freedom to choose low-carbon energy source

Each country must have the freedom to choose low-carbon energy sources, India, China, Russia, Pakistan and four Central Asian nations jointly stressed on Tuesday, even as they agreed to explore joint emerging fuel projects.

India and seven other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member nations agreed on the importance of emerging fuels, like hydrogen, biofuel and ammonia, in the transition to cleaner energy sources.

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, chaired a virtual meeting of the energy ministers of the SCO member nations.

“There does not exist one uniform low-carbon pathway working equally well for all the countries and each country is free to chart out its own unique path based on national priorities and resources,” the SCO energy ministers said in a joint statement issued after the virtual meeting.

The joint statement signalled the intent of the SCO nations to resist any pressure from the West while choosing from the range of low-carbon energy options. It came at a time when India is trying to maintain its strategic balance amid global geopolitical tension over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The SCO meeting chaired by Puri on Tuesday focused on emerging fuels and energy modelling.

Also Read | Green hydrogen: Why low-carbon fuels are not benefiting from high fossil fuel prices

The energy ministers of the eight SCO nations recognized that emerging fuels could play a critical role in promoting a circular economy by efficiently utilizing biological resources to produce various high-value marketable products with the least possible impacts on the environment.

They agreed to take forward sharing of knowledge of technological advancement for effective development and usage of emerging fuels.

In addition to the G20, India is also holding the chair of the SCO this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to host the SCO summit in New Delhi before hosting the G20 summit on September 9 and 10.

The G20 is dominated by the US and other western nations. The SCO on the other hand is led by China and Russia and is perceived as a counterweight to NATO. India and Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017, taking the number of its members to eight. Iran is likely to join the SCO as a full member this year.