APPG on Sustainable Finance launches Introductory Guide to Green Finance
Chloe George (Seahorse Environmental), Justin Adams (Just Climate), Jerome Mayhew MP and Baroness Penn at the APPG on Sustainable Finance launch of the Introductory Guide to Green Finance.
On 9 January 2023, the APPG on Sustainable Finance launched its ‘Introductory Guide to Green Finance’.
Co-written by Seahorse Environmental and the Green Finance Institute, the Guide sets out in layperson’s terms the key topics in sustainable finance, which has long been viewed as inaccessible to anyone outside of the sector. The Guide demystifies the countless acronyms and jargon, while shedding light on the opportunities that green finance can unlock for everyone – not just financiers.
The Launch – kindly sponsored by Green Alliance – included speeches from four industry and Parliamentary representatives, all with considerable yet varied experience. The speeches were as free of jargon and acronyms as the Guide itself, with each speaker presenting different areas of sustainable finance in a concise and digestible way.
The speeches kicked off with Chloe George – head of ESG at Seahorse – who stressed the importance of making sustainable finance accessible, before introducing the other speakers and handing over to Justin Adams (Head of Partnerships at Just Climate, part of Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management).
Justin addressed four key areas:
1) Disclosure and transparency: this provides clarity to investors, as without tracking environmental risks it is difficult to underwrite them. Improving data and monitoring, in addition to developing taxonomies, is key
2) Real economy investment: transition planning ensures that investment decisions are made in alignment with roadmaps to net-zero and nature-positive economies. Divestment is useful to an extent, but greater engagement with high-emitting sectors is needed
3) Capital mobilisation: the exponential growth of the renewables sector over the last ten years is testament to impact of capital mobilisation. Such mobilisation is now required within other sectors such as green steel, shipping, aviation, land use, and electric vehicles – which constitute more than 50% of global emissions but currently receive only 10% of capital allocation to achieve net zero
4) Aligning government policy: financial institutions need certainty and a clear vision from the Government if the UK is to remain a leader in global sustainable finance. The US Inflation Reduction Act is a perfect example of this. Public and private sector cooperation is vital in the green transition
Baroness Penn – Parliamentary Secretary for HM Treasury – then highlighted the key policy milestones for UK sustainable finance roadmap in 2023. These include: the Financial Services and Markets Bill; the updated Green Finance Strategy; the Sustainable Disclosure Requirements; the publication of the UK’s Green Taxonomy; and the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TNFD) recommendations.
Having recently attended COP15 on Biodiversity, Baroness Penn addressed the dual crises of nature and climate, while emphasising the role green finance can play in improving the UK’s competitiveness in these areas.
Jerome Mayhew MP – Chair of the APPG – concluded the speeches by underlining the need for clear messages from the Government which makes the Guide all the more important in bringing Parliamentarians on the sustainable finance journey. Jerome also summarised the APPG’s policy aims for this year: improving access to energy efficiency financing for householders and SMEs, and accelerating the uptake of green pensions.
Underpinning each speech was both a sense of optimism and a sense of urgency, as the need for a green financial system only becomes greater. Central to this transition will be bridging the knowledge and engagement gap between Parliamentarians and sustainable finance players – a mission the APPG is wholeheartedly committed to.