The action plan recommends leveraging London’s leading role in global green finance to grow green opportunities.
The Green Finance Taskforce’s first report, “Accelerating Green Finance,” advises the UK government on how to achieve important green finance goals, carbon targets in relation to the Paris Agreement. The report, published on 28 March, recommended the establishment of a Green Finance Institute, which would be a “one-stop-shop’ for all work relating to this sector. The report also advised:
Boosting investment in innovative clean technologies- Driving demand and supply for green lending products
- Setting up Clean Growth Regeneration Zones
- Improving climate risk management with advanced data
- Building a green and resilient infrastructure pipeline
- Issuing of a sovereign green bond for green projects, including flood defence
Sir Roger Gifford, Chairman of the Green Finance Institute, noted that “[t]he opportunities for green investment are plentiful — London’s deep pools of liquidity make it the natural choice for financing these initiatives.”[1]
The report marks the Green Finance Taskforce’s attempt to encourage the UK government to take advantage of London’s leading position in global green finance. In 2017, green bonds listed in London resulted in US$10 billion being raised.[2]
The UK government will likely respond to the report later this year, and Latham will continue to monitor any developments.
[1] http://greenfinanceinitiative.org/workstreams/green-finance-taskforce/
This post was prepared with the assistance of Olivia Featherstone in the London office of Latham & Watkins.
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