Carr Touts Uranium During India Trip

Renewable energy got a mention for the future, but fossil fuels and nuclear power held centre stage in Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr’s trade promotion tour of India, according to local media reports.

While in New Delhi and Mumbai, Carr met India’s minister of renewables, power, coal and mines, as well as ministers responsible for oil and gas, atomic energy, and steel. A joint statement issued by the two nations after the talks expressed a shared desire “to further strengthen the institutional framework” for cooperation on “action to combat climate change through innovation and deployment of low-carbon solutions,” on the way to meeting the Paris climate goals, The Hindu reports.

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Much of the actual discussion, however, appears to have focused on nuclear and “clean” fossil energy production. The Hindu reports that Carr declared himself “optimistic” that India would increase a commitment signed last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acquire 3,000 metric tons of uranium fuel from Canada for US$254 million.

The statement added that the two nations would “enhance [mutual] understanding of policies, programs, and regulatory practices…to promote and facilitate greater two-way trade and investment in the oil and gas sectors, including clean technology applied to the sector, for mutual economic benefit,” the Indian Express reports.

Enhanced cooperation on renewable technologies was put off for future discussion, according to the binational concluding statement. “Both sides agree to consider expanding the scope of their future bilateral dialogues to cover other areas of energy such as electricity and renewables; energy efficiency, clean technology, and innovation.”

“Canada and India,” the Hindu notes, “are among the 21 Mission Innovation partners who have committed to doubling government investments in clean technology research and development and stimulating private sector investment in clean technology over the next five years.”