UK Minister says India should move from coal to natural gas

NEW DELHI: British minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs Lord David Howell suggested that like some European countries, India too should move from coal to natural gas to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Speaking at a seminar here on "Balancing Private and Public Sector Interest in Energy Sector Reforms", Lord Howell said Britain had moved from coal to natural gas and this had helped it achieve an 18 per cent reduction in greenhouse emissions while registering a two per cent growth rate in the last few years.

He suggested that other countries, including India, could experiment with this method as this is an effective and affordable way to achieve low carbon growth to fight climate change.

However, he admitted that India's challenge in meeting the low carbon growth is much more difficult because of the large scale of its energy demands.

He appreciated India's commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions and maintained that partnerships and cooperation between countries like India and UK would help in creating a positive energy future.

Lord Howell noted that both in India and the UK, state organizations like Bureau of Energy Efficiency are working with private sector organizations, and reducing energy usages by at least 25 per cent.

He also explained how the world's first Green Investment Bank with a capital of 3 billion pounds will help achieve low carbon growth. He noted that natural gas is a clean energy which is 50 percent fuel efficient.