The Government has today announced a new ‘Green Finance Taskforce’ to help accelerate the growth of green finance and the UK’s low carbon economy.
The City of London’s Green Finance Initiative was established in 2016 to promote the UK as a global centre for green finance. The Government has also supported the LENDERS project through Innovate UK, which aims to improve estimations of energy costs for homeowners when calculating mortgage affordability.
The Green Finance Taskforce brings together senior leaders from the financial sector. Members include Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Rhian-Mari Thomas, managing director at Barclays, Bruce Davis, co-founder of Abundance Investment and Daniel Klier, group head of strategy and global head of sustainable finance, HSBC.
It will work with industry to accelerate the growth of green finance, and help deliver the investment required to meet the UK’s carbon reduction targets.
The Government said it endorses the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ recommendations and encourages all listed companies to implement them. These recommendations aim to integrate the risks and opportunities posed by climate change into mainstream financial disclosures.
It is working with the British Standards Institute to develop a set of green standards to provide clarity to financial institutions over the credentials of green financial products. The Government will also be working with mortgage lenders to support the development of green mortgage products that take account of the lower lending risk associated with more efficient properties and the reduced outgoings for customers living in more energy efficient homes.
Bruce Davis, cofounder of Abundance, said: “Abundance is proud to be included in the new Government Taskforce on Green Finance and wholeheartedly welcomes the aim to make the UK a global hub for green finance. We are also keen to find ways to allow as many people as possible to put their money to work in a way that fits their values and directly supports the UK’s transition to a clean growth economy”.
