India begins crucial discussions with IEA to secure full membership

Ministers from the International Energy Agency’s member countries have begun talks with India regarding its application to become a full member.

This is in recognition of the country’s “strategic importance” in tackling global energy and climate challenges, the Paris-based agency said after ministerial meetings in the French capital. India, which joined the IEA as an association country in 2017, sent a formal request for full membership to the organisation’s ministers in October last year.

“India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Sustained growth needs energy security and sustainability,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We bring scale and speed, quantity and quality to every mission. I am sure that the IEA will benefit when India plays a bigger role in it.”

India, the world’s most populous country and fifth-largest economy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by the end of this decade.

The Indian government has estimated that the country’s shift to a low-carbon path will require more than $10 trillion in new investments by 2070.

The country is expected to be the largest source of oil demand growth between now and 2030 as industrialisation and urbanisation surge in Asia’s third-largest economy, the agency said on Wednesday.

“This is a major milestone for international energy governance,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol, alluding to India’s bid for full membership of the agency.

“India plays a crucial and growing role in the global energy economy,” Mr Birol said.

“The world cannot plan for its energy future without India at the table.”

On Wednesday, the agency inducted Latvia as its 32nd member, coinciding with its 50th anniversary.

The IEA was created in 1974 to help co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in the supply of oil.

While oil security is a key focus area for the organisation, the agency has also expanded into overall energy security, economic development and renewable energy.

Since 2015, the agency has opened its doors to major emerging countries to expand its global impact, and deepen co-operation in energy security, data and statistics, and the growing use of clean energy technology.

The country is expected to be the largest source of oil demand growth between now and 2030, according to the agency