The British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata and the Government of Odisha collaborated to organise United Kingdom-Odisha Dialogue on COP 26 and Clean Energy and Clean Transport Transition with support from Confederation of Indian Industry on Thursday.

The COP 26 Climate Summit will be held at Glasgow, Scotland in November. The virtual webinar focused on two of the key themes: Clean Energy and Clean Transport. This high-level conference provided an opportunity to have focused discussions on strategic and innovative interventions to accelerate transition to zero emission vehicles and the adoption of cleaner energy as Odisha progresses its portfolio of sustainable development policies and pathways.

The programme also focused on discussions on innovative policies and technologies that can be adopted by the State and City Governments who can sign up to Route Zero Initiative and enhance ambition on electric mobility.

British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Nick Low, Secretary, Science and Technology, Manoj Mishra, Development Commissioner-cum-ACS, Pradeep Kumar Jena, spoke besides eminent speakers from the public and private sector from the United Kingdom and other parts of India and Odisha.  The event highlighted specific commitments from businesses in line with the COP26 campaigns (clean transport, nature solutions, adaptation and resilience, energy transition and finance). Businesses can support these initiatives as a means of achieving their net zero and short term commitments, or as a first step towards ambitious climate action. It also highlighted that the UK is ready to trade with Government of Odisha and support them in their clean energy transition journey in every possible way.