[co-author: James Callum]

In 2019, the U.K. government published a Green Finance Strategy aimed at codifying its approach to the financial sector’s transition to environmentally friendly practices. The strategy has three broad steps, namely (i) ensuring risks and opportunities from climate and environmental factors are integrated into mainstream financial decision making, (ii) accelerating finance to support the delivery of the U.K.’s carbon targets and (iii) making sure U.K. financial services capture the opportunities arising from the “greening of finance.”

The government is now looking to update the strategy, and on May 11, 2022, published a Call for Evidence asking for evidence and views in support of (or not, as the case may be) any such update. As part of the review, the progress that the strategy has made against the government’s pre-existing aims and objectives will be analyzed. These objectives include:

1. Decarbonizing the economy by 2050, supporting jobs and leveling up.

2. Boosting Britain’s energy security and fostering a greater independence from Russia.

3. Reversing the decline in biodiversity.

4. Preparing for the impacts of climate change.

To assist in the achievement of these objectives, the Call for Evidence is fielding various questions regarding the U.K.’s green finance regulations. For example, whether the U.K.’s green finance regulatory framework is “world class,” what the key characteristics of a leading global financial center for green finance are and what the comparative strengths of the U.K.’s green finance offering are, as well as other similar questions focusing on how the U.K.’s green finance regulatory landscape could improve.

The purpose of this consultation is to obtain evidence and views from stakeholders to feed into an update to the Green Finance Strategy, which is intended to be published in late 2022. Responses must be submitted electronically to evidence.gfs@beis.gov.uk by June 22, 2022.