UK government launches green finance taskforce

The UK government has launched a taskforce to make the UK a global hub for green finance. Speaking at the opening ceremony of Climate Week in New York, Climate Change Minister Claire Perry said the UK aims to be a ‘global hub for green finance’. Her announcements included developing the world’s first green financial management standards with the British Standards Institute.

An estimated $13.5tn of investment is needed between 2015 and 2030 in the energy sector alone for countries to meet their Paris Agreement targets. As much of this investment will come from the private sector, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) wants to use the UK’s green finance capabilities to provide a national economic boost.

Commenting on these developments, Maria Connolly, Partner and Leader of the Energy and Renewables team at TLT, says: ‘In recent years the financial sector has looked upon clean technologies as a safe investment. This has led to a number of banks and funds specialising in green finance and green investment. The current impetus to drive the UK towards a carbon neutral future can only be achieved with the backing of the financial sector, to fund projects and make this a reality.’

‘However, as with any financing, it is important that this is done within adequate governance frameworks and it is encouraging to see so many large funders involved in the Britain green finance taskforce. Not only will this encourage additional investment into the sector, but it will ensure that this investment is managed under stringent protocols.’

‘The question of how Brexit will impact on investment in the UK has been asked frequently since the decision to leave the EU was announced. In reality, there has been very little downturn in investment in the UK clean technology sector and while clean technologies are seen as a “safe” investment, this is unlikely to change. There remains plenty of appetite for investments in operational solar, wind, AD [anaerobic digestion] and biomass projects as well as energy storage. Investors are also expressing an interest in subsidy-free opportunities and will be keeping a watch on how this develops over the next couple of years.’

‘While one of the challenges facing the UK taskforce will be how to continue to make the British clean tech market attractive to investors as it continues to move away from the traditional renewables funding we have seen in the past, this is still a positive move for the UK and one that will hopefully see continued green finance investment in the UK market.’