Britain leads research initiative to put climate and environment at the heart of UK financial decision making
Leeds and London will be home to a new UK centre for driving global green finance and investment, Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced today (Monday 15 February), thanks to £10 million in government investment.
The new UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment will begin in April 2021, with physical hubs in Leeds and London opening a matter of months later led by a partnership with a number of UK institutions including University of Oxford, the University of Leeds and Imperial College London.
The research hubs in the 2 cities will provide world-class data and analytics to financial institutions and services such as banks, lenders, investors and insurers around the world to better support their investment and business decisions by considering the impact on the environment and climate change.
For example, the new centre will equip banks with the latest environmental and scientific intelligence to help companies of all sizes, including start-ups, anticipate, adapt and gear up for the risks posed by climate change. This pioneering research will also help create new world-leading products and services that tackle climate change, such as cutting-edge technologies that measure severe storms and flood risks for property investors and tools that can improve data on industrial pollution linked to investment portfolios.
These new green finance hubs will also attract and develop new green finance talent from around the world to the UK’s major cities.
This will unlock brand-new opportunities for Britain to lead internationally in greening global finance, positioning Leeds and London as global centres for green finance while also protecting the UK economy and society from climate and environmental risks such as extreme weather events, flooding, major biodiversity loss and water crises.
Following the ambitious commitments laid out in the Prime Minister’s Ten point plan and the government’s Energy white paper, today’s announcement is the latest development in the UK’s drive to build back greener, driving the creation of thousands of new green jobs and leading the world in tackling climate change.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:
Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister John Glen said:
It is estimated that successfully reducing climate change and adapting to life in a changing climate will deliver multi-trillion pounds of additional private sector investment every year. The new Centre for Greening Finance and Investment will help divert investment away from unsustainable activities such as deforestation and fossil fuels, and towards low carbon sectors, creating green jobs, building industries of the future, and ensuring the climate and environment at the heart of UK financial decision making.
The Bank of England’s executive sponsor for work on climate change Sarah Breedan said:
Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell said:
Today’s announcement delivers on commitments made in the government’s 2019 Green Finance Strategy to deliver a pioneering research and innovation programme aimed at enhancing data and analytics on climate and environmental hazards, as well as vulnerability and exposures.
The Centre for Greening Finance and Investment also furthers the Chancellor’s new chapter for UK financial services.
Additional Quotes
Chair of the Environment Agency and Chair of the CGFI Advisory Board, Emma Howard Boyd said:
Director and Principal Investigator of CGFI and the Lombard Odier Associate Professor of Sustainable Finance at the University of Oxford, Dr Ben Caldecott said:
Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UKRI Professor Sir Duncan Wingham said:
Notes to Editors
The government has invested £10 million into the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment through UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).
About the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI)