Want to partner India in renewable energy: British minister

Kolkata, July 5 (IANS) Indian-origin British Energy and Climate Change Minister, Baroness Sandip Verma, Saturday emphasised the her country would aid India to develop its renewable energy sector and suggested it replicate British financial models that boost investment in the green sector.

Verma, a member of the House of Lords, said there is "no conflict" in growth and environment protection.

She said India could follow a model like that of Britain's Green Investment Bank (GIB), a funding organisation working towards the green sector.

"India could essentially use GIB as a model...it is a good financial model to encourage investment in the green sector...it is working well in the UK.

"It is one of many measures that one can utilisenot only for roping in private public investment, but private investment as well. So it's a good instrument that India should seriously look at closely," she said at an interactive session on "India-UK Initiatives in Climate Change" organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here.

The minister said areas of solar energy, biomass and hydropower are growing in India and the Britain would ensure it works in "close partnership" with India in these sectors.

"We look at energy as a mix of different players because that's important for self-sufficiency. It is important that you have growth...we want to help you in developing that part of narrative.

"Its about prioritising ... you have a large population here and there is a lot of areas that are growing, developing and we would like to work in partnership to develop those areas. Renewable sector is a growing sector, the solar power sector, so is biomass and anaerobic digestion, the nuclear sector," she said.

"India sees carbon emissions reduction as important too but it has to be within the framework of other things that you are doing here...its important that you have growth. We think of it an opportunity...," Baroness Verma added.