By William James
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Britain said it had attracted
nearly 10 billion pounds ($13.72 billion) from global investors
to fund its green regeneration agenda, as it hosted an
investment summit involving 200 of the world's top financiers
and executives.
The summit marks post-Brexit Britain's biggest push to woo
investors, even leveraging the soft power of drinks with Queen
at her castle, as it seeks cash and partners to get ahead in the
international race for a competitive edge in green technology.
"We are rolling out the green carpet for investors," said
trade department minister Gerry Grimstone ahead of the summit
opening.
The British government announced private investment deals
worth 9.7 billion pounds, including 6 billion pounds in offshore
wind from Iberdrola, as well as in net zero carbon
warehouses and decarbonisation technology for the waste
industry.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will open the summit in central
London on Tuesday, speaking to financiers such as JPMorgan Chase
& Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, Blackrock CEO
Larry Fink and bosses from GlaxoSmithKline and Darktrace
.
France has held a similar investment summit in recent years,
but Britain believes it has a trump card over its neighbour:
after the summit, attendees will travel to Windsor Castle for a
reception attended by the Queen and other senior royals.
The event comes at a time when Britain's green credentials
are in the spotlight, two weeks before it hosts the U.N. COP26
climate summit, where Johnson will try to broker a complex
international deal to stall rising global temperatures.
The government last year issued a plan setting out how it
wanted to prioritise green technology and climate goals in
Britain's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
That gambit is central to Johnson's political agenda too,
having been elected in 2019 on a pledge to reinvigorate
post-industrial parts of the country and create higher-skilled,
better-paid jobs.
The new investments are on top of 5.85 billion pounds the
government said last week had been agreed since Johnson launched
his plan in November.
($1 = 0.7290 pounds)
(Reporting by William James; Editing by Alex Richardson)