New Delhi, Dec 9 — A potential India-EU Free Trade Agreement could significantly broaden India’s access to advanced green technologies, including battery storage and wind and renewable energy systems, said Shishir Priyadarshi, president of the Centre for Responsible Finance (CRF), at a post-COP Belem dialogue on Monday jointly organised by CRF and TERI.
Priyadarshi, a former World Trade Organization official, said India is often seen as a hard negotiator because its red lines are frequently misunderstood and media narratives are shaped by other partners. He added that climate change is one area where India and the EU show uncommon alignment, creating an opportunity for closer cooperation.
With EU Trade Commissioner Maros in New Delhi to advance talks on the long-awaited trade deal, Priyadarshi said discussions with European officials indicated the FTA could be a key enabler of India’s clean-energy transition. He suggested a deal could “open far greater access to green technologies, especially battery storage and wind energy,” building on the outcomes and gaps from COP Belem.
Warning that extreme weather events are becoming the new normal, Priyadarshi urged immediate action. “What we call extreme today is becoming the baseline. If we don’t act differently now, the next decade will break every record we know,” he said.
On climate finance, he argued developing countries cannot rely solely on funding from the Global North. “For years we said, ‘you caused the damage, you pay,’ but what have we received? Peanuts. We must design solutions that mobilise resources domestically while still pressing for fairness,” he said.
Priyadarshi also advocated integrating climate objectives into trade and economic policy. He said climate measures work better when embedded in trade frameworks rather than treated as isolated or purely aspirational goals, because economic integration can deliver faster, clearer results.
Addressing India’s role in the Global South, he rejected the idea that the transition to cleaner growth is a binary choice between development and sustainability. “For India and the Global South, it is not green versus growth; it is securing both. We don’t seek exceptions — only fairness and equity,” he said.
The session, titled “Beyond Belem — Charting the Next Phase of Global Climate Action,” included contributions from senior experts such as RR Rashmi (TERI), Madhur (IIT Delhi) and former MoEFCC Secretary Leena Nandan.
