UK announces $1.2 billion package for green energy projects in India
The UK government has a $1.2 billion package for public and private investment in green projects and renewable energy in India. The announcement was made by UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak and union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the two countries.
They also unveiled a Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership, which intends to mobilize private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India. These investments will support India's target of 450 GW renewable energy by 2030, the British High Commission (BHC) said in a public declaration.
Under CFLI, a group of leading financial instruments would mobilize private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India, involving clean energy like wind and solar power and other green technologies. It will be presided by Michael Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.
"At today's EFD, the Chancellor and the Finance Minister also agreed to be ambitious when considering services in the upcoming UK-India trade negotiations, which could open up new opportunities for UK financial firms and help more Indian companies to access finance in the City of London," said the declaration.
The billion-dollar package comprises a $1 billion investment from CDC, the UK's development finance institution in green projects in India between 2022-2026. CDC already has a $1.99 billion active portfolio of private sector investments in India.
The partnership also involves setting up a joint fund by the UK and India to invest in companies offering innovative green tech solutions. A new $200 million private and multilateral investment would be done into the joint UK-India Green Growth Equity Fund which invests in Indian renewable energy, said the declaration.
UK is hosting the global climate conference COP26 in Glasgow later this year. Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequr said, "Supporting India's green growth is a shared priority. With trade negotiations also coming up, our agreement to be ambitious when considering services will create new opportunities in both markets, supporting jobs and investment in the UK and India."
UK's Infrastructure Projects Authority would also support the newly launched National Infrastructure Pipeline by the Indian government.
