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Abstract
Since the start of multilateral climate negotiations, India and the US have been on opposite sides of the aisle on the issue of responsibility for climate action. Following years of intense scrutiny, India found points of convergence with the US and worked closely with the Obama administration to help secure a global deal at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. The Trump era, however, marked a period of stark divergence between India and the US on the issue of climate change. The US’ climate inaction at the multilateral level under the Trump administration was met with India’s proactive global leadership in the fight against climate change. At the same time, the bilateral relationship saw greater convergence on the issue of energy trade, particularly conventional sources of energy such as coal, oil and gas. This essay analyzes India-US climate relations during the Trump years and argues that the personal views of the political leadership and domestic interest groups affected the nature of this relationship, which is best described as divergence on climate change but convergence on energy security.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 “Full text of Trump’s speech – ‘Draconian’ Paris accord dumped.” The Guardian, June 1, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/02/full-text-of-trumps-speech-draconian-paris-accord-dumped (accessed July 24, 2022).
2 Vyoma Jha, “India and Climate Change: Old Traditions, New Strategies,” India Quarterly 78, no. 2 (2022): 280–296.
3 David J. Singer, “The Level-of-Analysis Problem in International Relations,” World Politics, 14, no. 1 (1961): 77–92. Please see the “Introduction” to the special issue for a detailed discussion on Singer’s level of analysis.
4 Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, “Present at the Creation: The Making of the Framework Convention on Climate Change,” in India in a Warming World: Integrating Climate Change and Development, ed. Navroz K. Dubash (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2019), 142–56.
5 Antto Vihma, “India and the global climate governance: between principles and pragmatism,” The Journal of Environment & Development 20, no. 1 (2011): 69–94, 78.
6 Navroz K. Dubash, “From Norm Taker to Norm Maker? Indian Energy Governance in Global Context.” Global Policy, no. 2 (2011): 66–79.
7 Dasgupta, “Present at the Creation”; Aniruddh Mohan, “From Rio to Paris: India in Global Climate Politics.” Rising Powers Quarterly 2, no. 3 (2017): 39–61.
8 India played a key role in conceptualizing a new negotiating bloc with other rapidly industrializing countries – the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China). These emerging economies increasingly started having climate-related dialogs with the developed countries in other forums outside the UNFCCC process, such as the G8 + 5 Dialogue on Climate and Energy in 2008, the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in 2009, and the G20 conferences. See, Mohan, “From Rio to Paris”.
9 “US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE): A Progress Report”, June 2013. https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/062013_indo_us_pace_report_0.pdf (accessed July 24, 2022).
10 “India–US Energy Dialogue – Fact Sheet”, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, March 2, 2006. https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/5996/IndiaUS+Energy+Dialogue++Fact+Sheet (accessed July 24, 2022).
11 “US-India Energy Cooperation,” Office of International Affairs. https://www.energy.gov/ia/initiatives/us-india-energy-cooperation (accessed July 24, 2022).
12 “PACE: A Progress Report”.
13 Navroz K. Dubash, “The Politics of Climate Change in India: Narratives of Equity and Cobenefits.” WIREs Climate Change 4, no. 3 (2013): 191–201, Aaron Atteridge et al., “Climate Policy in India: What Shapes International, National and State Policy?” Ambio 41, no. 1 (2012): 68–77.
14 “Fact Sheet: The United States and India – Moving Forward Together on Climate Change, Clean Energy, Energy Security, and the Environment.” Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, June 7, 2016. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/07/fact-sheet-united-states-and-india-%E2%80%93-moving-forward-together-climate (accessed July 24, 2022).
15 Ibid.
16 Alyssa Ayers, “Turnabout on Climate Change: India and the United States,” Council on Foreign Relations, June 1, 2017. https://www.cfr.org/blog/turnabout-climate-change-india-and-united-states (accessed July 24, 2022).
17 Demetri Sevastopulo and Pilita Clark, “Paris climate deal will not be a legally binding treaty,” Financial Times, November 11, 2015. https://www.ft.com/content/79daf872-8894-11e5-90de-f44762bf9896 (accessed July 24, 2022).
18 Vyoma Jha, “Sunny Skies Ahead? Political Economy of Climate, Trade and Solar Energy in India,” Trade, Law and Development 9, no. 2 (2017): 255–304.
19 Jayashree Nandi, “WTO Ruling May Hit Solar Cos’ $100bn Opportunity,” The Times of India, March 5, 2016. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/WTO-ruling-may-hit-solarcos-100bn-opportunity/articleshow/51263358.cms (accessed July 29, 2022).
20 D. Ravi Kanth, “WTO case exposes Barack Obama’s hypocrisy,” Live Mint, March 11, 2016. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/UUpLGwKvldtdkMWvxT6cLN/WTO-case-exposes-Barack-Obamas-hypocrisy.html (accessed July 29, 2022).
21 Jha, “Sunny Skies Ahead,” 293–295.
22 Vyoma Jha, “‘Soft Law in a Hard Shell’: India, International Rulemaking and the International Solar Alliance,” Transnational Environmental Law 10, no. 3 (2021): 517–541.
23 Jha, “Sunny Skies Ahead,” 296–300.
24 “Revision of cumulative targets under National Solar Mission,” Press Information Bureau, Government of India, June 17, 2015. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=122566 (accessed July 24, 2022).
25 “International Solar Energy Alliance Launched at COP21.” Newsroom, UNFCCC, November 30, 2015. https://newsroom.unfccc.int/news/international-solar-energy-alliance-launched-at-cop21 (July 24, 2022).
26 Narendra Modi, “The rich must take greater responsibility for climate change.” Financial Times, November 29, 2015. https://www.ft.com/content/03a251c6-95f7-11e5-9228-87e603d47bdc (accessed July 24, 2022).
27 Interestingly, the early idea for the ISA can be traced back to 2012 when Modi expressed his vision for a league of nations for solar power on similar lines as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). “India should take initiatives to form league like OPEC: Modi,” Firstpost, April 19, 2012. https://www.firstpost.com/fwire/india-should-take-initiatives-to-form-league-like-opec-modi-281550.html (accessed July 24, 2022).
28 Narendra Modi, Convenient Action: Continuity for Change (Gurgaon: Lexis Nexis, 2015).
29 “India should take initiatives to form league like OPEC: Modi,” Firstpost, April 19, 2012. https://www.firstpost.com/fwire/india-should-take-initiatives-to-form-league-like-opec-modi-281550.html (accessed July 24, 2022).
30 It is also argued that global pressure made India position itself as a leader on climate action in order to stave off criticism from its partners on doing too little to combat climate change. See, Sarang Shidore and Joshua W. Busby, “What explains India’s embrace of solar? State-led energy transition in a developmental polity,” Energy Policy 129 (2019): 1179–1189.
31 Aniruddh Mohan and Timon Wehnert, “Is India pulling its weight? India’s nationally determined contribution and future energy plans in global climate policy,” Climate Policy 19, no. 3 (2019): 275–282.
32 Narendra Modi, “PM’s address to the Joint Session of U.S. Congress,” June 8, 2016. https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/tag/pmspeech/ (accessed July 24, 2022).
33 Previously, under the Bush administration, the US had formally rejected the Kyoto Protocol by refusing to ratify the agreement. However, the Trump administration’s indifference to the issue of climate change was amplified by President Trump’s personal take on the matter.
34 Jha, “India and Climate Change”, 286.
35 Helier Cheung, “What does Trump actually believe on climate change?” BBC, January 23, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51213003 (accessed July 24, 2022).
36 Timmons Roberts, “One Year since Trump’s Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement,” Brookings, June 1, 2018. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/planetpolicy/2018/06/01/one-year-since-trumps-withdrawal-from-the-paris-climate-agreement/ (accessed July 24, 2022).
37 Cheung, “What does Trump actually believe”.
38 Elizabeth Bomberg, “The environmental legacy of President Trump,” Policy Studies 42, no. 5–6 (2021): 628–645, 634.
39 Ibid., 635.
40 Samantha Gross, “What is the Trump administration’s track record on the environment?,” August 4, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/what-is-the-trump-administrations-track-record-on-the-environment/ (accessed on July 29, 2022).
41 The Guardian.
42 “Transcript of Annual Press Conference by External Affairs Minister on completion of 3 years of Government,” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, June 8, 2017. https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/28517/Transcript_of_Annual_Press_Conference_by_External_Affairs_Minister_on_completion_of_3_years_of_Government (accessed July 24, 2022).
43 Jha, “India and Climate Change”, 286.
44 Gross, “Trump administration’s track record”.
45 Frank Jotzo, Joanna Depledge and Harald Winkler, “US and international climate policy under President Trump,” Climate Policy 18, no. 7 (2018): 813–817, 814.
46 Roberts, “One year since trump’s withdrawal”.
47 Jotzo, Depledge and Winkler, “US and international climate policy,” 814.
48 Jotzo, Depledge and Winkler, “US and international climate policy,” 816.
49 Vyoma Jha, “Soft Law in a Hard Shell”.
50 “India gifts solar panels to UN, one each for 193 member states.” The Economic Times, September 13, 2019. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-gifts-solar-panels-to-un-one-each-for-193-member-states/articleshow/71117091.cms (accessed July 24, 2022).
51 “Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi of India at ‘Howdy, Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ Event”, Trump White House Archive, September 22, 2019. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-modi-india-howdy-modi-shared-dreams-bright-futures-event/ (accessed July 24, 2022).
52 “Joint Statement – United States and India: Prosperity Through Partnership,” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, June 27, 2017. https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/28560/Joint+Statement++United+States+and+India+Prosperity+Through+Partnership (accessed July 24, 2022).
53 “India-US Strategy Energy Partnership Joint Statement”, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, April 17, 2018. https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=178727 (accessed July 24, 2022).
54 Manish Vaid, “India and US set to deepen strategic energy partnership,” Observer Research Foundation, March 5, 2020. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-and-us-set-to-deepen-strategic-energy-partnership-61962/ (accessed July 24, 2022).
55 “Translation of Press statement by the Prime Minister on the State Visit of the President of the United States of America to India,” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, February 25, 2020. https://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/32420/Translation_of_Press_statement_by_the_Prime_Minister_on_the_State_Visit_of_the_President_of_the_United_States_of_America_to_India (accessed July 24, 2022).
56 Ibid.
57 Kitty Pollack, “U.S.-India Climate Cooperation Boosts Joint Ambition in Line with Track II Dialogue Recommendations,” The Aspen Institute, April 7, 2021. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/u-s-india-enhanced-platform-on-energy-and-climate-2021/ (accessed on July 29, 2022).
58 “U.S.-India Joint Statement on Launching the ‘U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership’,” Office of the Spokesperson, US Department of State, April 22, 2021. https://www.state.gov/u-s-india-joint-statement-on-launching-the-u-s-india-climate-and-clean-energy-agenda-2030-partnership/ (accessed July 29, 2022).
59 Jha, “India and Climate Change,” 290–291.
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Vyoma Jha
Dr. Vyoma Jha is a graduate of the doctoral programme (J.S.D.) at Stanford Law School. She holds law degrees from Stanford Law School, New York University School of Law and National Law University, Jodhpur, India. Vyoma focuses her research on climate change law and policy, international economic law, and India’s energy foreign policy.