In an important side event organised during the visit of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group met on Thursday to discuss laying down of a charter of principles, actions and mechanisms to cut carbon emissions and identify business opportunities to fight climate change in both the countries.
Cameron, who launched the group in February before becoming the UK Prime Minister, had said, This group has a clear mandate to help tackle climate change in a pro-business, pro-green growth, pro-innovation way.
The mandate is sought to be achieved through creation of opportunities for low-carbon business solutions in both the countries. These are sought to be identified by deliberations between group members as well as interviews conducted with them and others by ICF Consulting.
Giving an example, John Banham, chairman, Johnson Matthey, who is also co-chair of the the UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group, told FE, “We would come up with proposals on how to provide electricity in a sustainable way to 450 million people in India, who lack access to it.”
Elaborating further, Genevieve Anderson, executive director, UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group, added, “The charter would broadly focus on the role of the private sector in driving the shift to a low-carbon economy, conducting joint R&D, laying down a framework for setting up demonstration projects, and improving the flow of capital.” The group is functioning out of the climate group office in London, which is an NGO working globally with governments and businesses to usher in a low-carbon economy.
Mark Kenber, deputy CEO, the climate group, said, “The ultimate aim is to focus on win-win solutions for both the countries. It can be achieved by leveraging the strengths of each country for the benefit of the other. For example, while India can lead in deploying IT solutions to develop smart grids, UK can share its expertise in carbon financing.” The final report would be presented to the Prime Ministers of both the countries before being released in the third week of September at the Climate Week in New York City.
The 16-member group comprises eight members from each country. While the British members include John Banham, chairman, Johnson Matthey; Stuart Rose, chairman, Marks and Spencer; Stephen Green, chairman, HSBC; Keith ONions, rector, Imperial College London; Steve Holliday, CEO, National Grid; Keith Parker, CEO, Nuclear Industry Association;James Murdoch, chairman & CEO, News Corporation, and John Rose, CEO, Rolls Royce, the Indian members include Amit Mitra, secretary general, Ficci; Mukesh Aghi, chairman & CEO, Steria; YK Modi, chairman, Great Eastern Energy Corp; Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman & MD, Bharti Enterprises; KK Modi, chairman, Modi Enterprises; Shiv Nadar, CEO, HCL; Hari Sankaram, MD, IL&FS, and Tulsi R Tanti, chairman & MD, Suzlon.
Source: The Financial Express
Published on 31 July 2010