UK to invest $1.2 bn in govt and private green energy projects in India

The investments will support India's goal of 450 Gw renewable energy by 2030, the British High Commission stated

The UK government announced on Thursday, 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 launched a Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership, which aims to mobilise 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 statement.

Under CFLI, a group of leading financial instruments would mobilise private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India, including clean energy like wind and solar power and other green technologies. It will be chaired 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 statement.

The billion-dollar package includes 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 existing portfolio of private sector investments in India.

The partnership also entails 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 statement.

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 recently launched National Infrastructure Pipeline by the Indian government.

The EFD was held virtually on Thursday. The Indian delegation was led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and included RBI Governor Das, and SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi. The UK delegation was led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and included Bank of England Governor Bailey, and Financial Conduct Authority CEO Nikhil Rathi.