Green finance Net zero transition

Green Finance Strategy must deliver a net zero and resilient future

 

Welcoming the launch of the Green Finance Strategy today, Alex White, Policy Manager at the Aldersgate Group, said: “The UK’s first ever Green Finance Strategy is an important step in delivering the necessary investment for our 2050 net zero emissions target and the ambition of the 25 Year Environment Plan. There are several good announcements today. For example, the new £5m Green Home Finance Fund is a positive move for incentivising domestic energy efficiency investment, and the launch of the Green Finance Education Charter will be vital in ensuring the UK financial sector has the skills and expertise to lead the flourishing international green finance market.”

“We welcome the recognition that private finance has a key role in tackling climate change and enhancing resilience, but the government must enable it to do so through the right policy framework. This Strategy must now be accompanied by an update on the Clean Growth Strategy based on the new net zero target, with binding regulations and market mechanisms to increase investment in zero carbon buildings, industry, transport and natural climate solutions.”

Alex White added: “Widespread and consistent adoption of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations is necessary to create a level playing field, ensure comparability and future-proof businesses and investors against the financial impacts of climate change. We urge government to send a clearer signal that TCFDs will become mandatory by 2022 if voluntary take-up remains insufficient.”

[1] The Aldersgate Group published a report on green infrastructure investment in March 2018, Towards the new normal: increasing investment in the UK’s green infrastructure which considers changes to financial regulations to encourage long-term investment in green infrastructure and greater mandatory business disclosure of climate and environmental risks to better inform investment decisions, alongside recommendations on targeted public spending to crowd in private sector investment in complex projects and greater policy detail to deliver a cost-effective pipeline of green infrastructure projects.

[2] The Aldersgate Group was also part of the government’s Green Finance Taskforce which released its recommendations in March 2018. http://greenfinanceinitiative.org/workstreams/green-finance-taskforce/

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