New Delhi: UN Climate Change Conference President Alok Sharma met Union Minister of Power and Renewable Energy RK Singh on Tuesday and expressed UK’s willingness for collaborating with India on green hydrogen.
Sharma, who is MP for Reading West, raised the issue of phasing out of coal-fired power plants in the meeting which was also attended by senior officials and the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom in India.
Singh said India has already retired 16,369 MW of inefficient thermal units till March 2021.
An official release said both sides expressed their willingness to explore the possibility of establishing a World bank for Green Energy which could materialise the proposal for $100 billion climate finance pledged by the developed countries under the Paris Agreement.
The UK side requested India’s support for organizing a successful COP26 (UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties) which is to be held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.
The union minister expressed India’s interest in collaborating with the UK on offshore wind. He also stressed on the need of the developed and developing countries to work together for bringing down the cost of storage.
The minister informed the UK delegation that India is the only G20 country whose actions are in accordance with the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) set by them under the Paris Agreement.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the need of increasing storage capacity in view of India’s ambitious target of having 450 MW of installed Renewable Capacity by 2030. The UK side was invited to participate in the upcoming bids for green hydrogen and lithium-ion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced National Hydrogen Mission during his Independence Day address to make India a global hub of green hydrogen production and export.
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Hydrogen is the latest buzz for meeting the world’s energy needs. Being the cleanest form of energy, it can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
“The meeting provided an opportunity to the business community to interact with Union Minister on various aspects the renewable energy and power sector in India and the associated opportunities available to the global investors,” a power ministry statement said.