2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations – Partnership in Energy Transition
By Prasenjit Dhar
During the virtual bilateral summit held on 4 May 2021 between the UK and India, our two Prime Ministers announced an ambitious ten-year “2030 Roadmap for future relations” which will elevate the bilateral ties through a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”. Climate action was one of the roadmap’s five key areas.
In the joint statement issued after the virtual bilateral summit, the two countries have agreed to work together to ensure an ambitious outcome at COP26 and expand the UK-India partnership on tackling climate change. The focus will be to collaborate on new technologies which will help accelerate development in areas including clean energy, e-mobility, alternative fuels, green hydrogen and waste-to-energy. At the same time, these will help reduce pollution, protect nature and biodiversity. The UK will not only work with India, but the two countries will work together regionally and multilaterally helping developing countries adapt to the impact of climate change.
According to the joint statement issued after the meeting of the PMs: “Both leaders reaffirmed their personal commitment to taking ambitious climate action in pursuit of the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the run-up to the 26th Conference of Parties and beyond. They agreed to work together to reach an ambitious, transparent and inclusive negotiated climate outcome at Glasgow.”
They also agreed to announce a green grids initiative at COP26 and to promote climate resilient infrastructure through a new facility for Small Island Developing States under the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and to launch a UK-India Partnership on Forests. To support, they agreed to explore enhanced partnerships with major private finance leaders to mobilise both public and private finance. From a business perspective, all these could provide major potential commercial opportunities for enterprises in both our countries.
UKIBC have been engaging in this area through our Energy Transition and Climate Economy Group. Through this Group we will be working with the various stakeholders including governments, influencers, think tanks and businesses to help adopt global good practices and put in place enabling policy and regulatory reforms, where required. This will help businesses from both countries better understand commercial opportunities and participate whole-heartedly in growing India’s clean energy sector.
The Roadmap also mentions building on the India-UK partnership between the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to mobilise institutional investments in the targeted clean and sustainable infrastructure development projects in India. UKIBC along with OPM and PwC have been selected by the UK Government to manage, implement and monitor a GGEF Technical Cooperation Facility for enabling greater partnership with India’s private sector (including the banking and institutional sector) for shaping and raising global ambitions on climate and green finance.
