Panaji, Sep 7 - A US government energy department official has called for more green buildings to promote conservation of energy in India.

'The need of the hour is to have more and more green buildings and joint energy conservation initiatives in the urban hubs of these countries,' said senior US energy department advisor Mark Ginsberg here Monday.

'We will train the officials for the purpose,' Ginsberg told reporters on the sidelines of an international conference on energy conservation organised by the Delhi-based All India Institute of Local Self Government.

'Initially, we could adopt a voluntary approach towards paired cities and educate officials on the importance of sustainable urban development,' he said.

'We have Delhi paired with Chicago, Mumbai with Los Angeles, Surat with Philadelphia, Baroda with Edison.'

The US, he said, had 'invested heavily' on energy conservation and renewable energy projects.

'We have invested heavily to the tune of $60 billion towards renewable energy in order to transform the economy,' Ginsberg said.