Green Finance Strategy builds on the Green Finance Taskforce report, highlighting the City of London’s role in delivering a green economy.

By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green

On July 2, 2019, the UK government published its Green Finance Strategy (Strategy), subtitled “Transforming Finance for a Greener Future.” The document outlines how the finance sector, and better climate disclosure from corporate actors, can drive progress in relation to climate change and help the UK achieve its net-zero emissions target.

The Strategy aims to: position climate and environmental factors as financial and strategic imperatives; establish a shared understanding of “greening”; clarify UK governmental and private sector roles and responsibilities; transition to a long-term approach; and build robust, transparent, and consistent green financial market frameworks.

This blog will explore the background to the Strategy, as well as the Strategy’s main themes and aims.

The action plan recommends leveraging London’s leading role in global green finance to grow green opportunities.

By Paul A. Davies

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]