UK panel ropes in India to fight climate change

S Kalyana Ramanathan / London February 06, 2010 The opposition Conservative Party, ahead of the election in the UK, today formed a powerful climate change group involving business leaders from India and the UK. The group will prepare a report on aspects in which India and UK can collaborate to fight climate change. It will be co-chaired by Ficci General Secretary Amit Mitra and Marks & Spencer chairman Stuart Rose. At a meeting hosted by Ficci and London Business School in London today, shadow minister of climate change Gregory Barker asserted that this was not a political move to woo voters, but a proactive decision to engage two of the world’s most vibrant democracies to come together to face climate change challenges. This is the first major collaboration the Conservative Party has initiated before the election in the UK. Tory party leader and Prime Minister candidate David Cameron, who attended the meeting said it would be an independent business panel. “The special relationship is not some distant vision. (We should take) the parting flirtation to a full-on romance,” Cameron said. He added that climate change challenges cannot be tackled by “well-healed politicians telling people how to live”. The group would function independent of the outcome of the election in June, said Barker.