April 23 (Reuters) – British International Investment (BII) launched a 1.1 billion-pound ($1.48 billion) climate finance initiative on Thursday, aiming to draw private capital into clean energy projects across India and Southeast Asia, where coal is still dominant in power generation.
Here are some details:
• The five-year programme, called British Climate Partners, will invest in developing Asian economies alongside private investors in equity platforms and mezzanine financing to scale renewable and low-carbon projects, BII said.
• Asia accounted for about three-quarters of global coal demand in 2024, underscoring the challenge in cutting emissions in fast-growing economies, BII said, citing industry data.
• The initiative will focus on India and other countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, where demand for power is rising and investment needs are large.
• “Asia’s energy transition will depend on mobilising private capital at scale and British Climate Partners is designed to do exactly that,” said Srini Nagarajan, managing director and head of Asia at BII.
($1 = 0.7416 pounds)
(Reporting by Sethuraman NR and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
