The Government of the United Kingdom will invest $1.2 billion through public and private investments in green projects and renewable energy in India to support the latter’s target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the partnership at the 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue between India and the UK.

Sunak and Sitharaman also launched the Climate Finance Leader Initiative (CFLI) India Partnership to mobilize private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India, including solar, wind, and other green technologies. The UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, Michael Bloomberg, will chair the CFLI India Partnership, and several leading financial institutions will lead the partnership.

Rishi Sunak said, “Supporting India’s green growth is a shared priority, and we have announced a $1.2 billion investment package and launched the CFLI India partnership to boost investment in sustainable projects in India as the UK gears up to host the COP 26.”

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, which would be attended by countries that had signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed in 1994. The 2021 meeting will be the 26th meeting, thus the title COP26.

As a part of the package, CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, will invest $1 billion in Indian green projects between 2022-2026. With this, CDC’s existing investment portfolio in the Indian private sector stands at $1.99 billion.

Both governments will make a joint investment to support companies providing innovative green tech solutions and a $200 million private and multilateral investment into the joint UK-India Green Growth Equity Fund, which invests in the Indian renewable energy sector.

“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,” Sunak added.

Earlier this year, CDC Group announced a $30 million facility to Tata Cleantech Capital Limited (TCCL) through CDC’s directed green lending facility. The facility is expected to help TCCL enhance efforts to avoid greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency and e-mobility solutions.

In January last year, India had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department for International Development (DFID-Government of United Kingdom) to facilitate the Indian Railways’ energy self-sufficiency.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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