U.K. Joins Bloomberg-led Group to Fund India’s Energy Transition

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. and India are backing an effort led by Bloomberg LP to steer billions of dollars toward renewable energy projects in the south Asian country to help it transition away from fossil fuels. 

The governments, along with the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, announced the new partnership known as CFLI India in a statement on Thursday. Its aim is to work with the public and private sectors to spur the flow of private capital into India as the country embarks on a record build-out of renewable power. 

The U.K. later this year will host the COP26 international climate talks, where countries are set to update their emissions-reductions pledges made under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Indian officials have insisted that developed economies need to ensure more investment for the country to tighten its climate goals so that its citizens don't have to bear the strain of the transition.  

“This partnership is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to speed the transition to clean energy and make possible the deep emissions cuts we need to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and beyond,” according to Michael Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and chair of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative. 

India, the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, plans to expand its renewable power capacity more than four-fold to 450 gigawatts by the end of this decade, marking a shift from fossil fuels such as coal and oil. BloombergNEF estimates the country will need $649 billion of fresh investments in its power sector to hit that target, a funding gap private investments can fill. 

CFLI India will be co-chaired by Shemara Wikramanayake, chief executive officer of Macquarie Group Ltd., and Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group. It includes major Indian and multi-national companies from the private sector. The City of London Corp. and the Global Infrastructure Facility will also support the initiative, according to the statement. 

(Michael Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

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